There were 25 preventive arrest warrants and one temporary arrest, in addition to 3 electronic monitoring measures. Among the main targets of the investigation are members of the Haidar family, which operates in the border region between Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraguay. According to the Federal Police, the criminal organization had a family nucleus made up of three brothers, children and other relatives.
In total, the Court authorized:
25 preventive arrest warrants;
1 temporary arrest warrant;
3 electronic monitoring measures;
the removal of three civil police officers from Mato Grosso do Sul;
76 search and seizure warrants.
A luxury stud farm, six farms with more than 5 thousand hectares, mansions, luxury cars, speedboats and race horses are among the assets affected by the operation.
Police officer is suspected of embezzling two tons of cocaine
Arrested since September, as part of Operation Infiltrados, police chief Hoffman D’Ávila Cândido e Sousa reportedly earned at least R$15 million from participating in the criminal scheme.
According to the PF, he is suspected of participating in the diversion of approximately two tons of cocaine from the Specialized Police Station for the Repression of Drug Trafficking (Denar), in Campo Grande.
In a statement, Hoffman's defense informed that it is awaiting access to the case records. Check out the full position at the end of the report.
The defense of civil police officer Douglas Tobias, also arrested in September, reported that he followed the execution of the search and seizure warrant, but has not yet had access to the court decision or the content of the investigation.
In a statement, lawyer Luiz Renê stated that Douglas is available to provide clarifications.
"In any case, Douglas Tobias once again demonstrated that he is a reputable person, an exemplary professional and has nothing to hide, being available to provide clarifications and hoping that justice will be done", he declared.
g1 has not yet managed to contact the defenses of the other people being investigated. The space remains open.
g1 also tried to contact the Civil Police and the State Secretariat of Justice and Public Security of Mato Grosso do Sul (Sejusp), but received no response.
Target of the operation was convicted of murder
In January 2025, Maroan Fernandes Haidar Ahmed, one of the targets of this Wednesday's operation, was sentenced by the Mato Grosso Court to 21 years and six months in prison for the murder of Fábio Batista de Jesus.
The crime occurred on December 3, 2018, at a gas station and in 2019, when he was still at large, he was included on Interpol's most wanted list.
At the time of the trial, however, Maroan was already detained at the Federal Penitentiary of Porto Velho, in Rondônia.
Family nucleus worked on the border
According to Federal Police investigations, the criminal organization's main area of activity was the border region between Ponta Porã, in Mato Grosso do Sul, and Pedro Juan Caballero, in Paraguay.
The group also maintained activities in other states and international trafficking routes. The drugs were obtained in Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay and sent to different Brazilian cities and European countries, mainly Spain and Portugal. The group would have links with the PCC and the First Catarinense Group (PGC).
The operation carried out warrants in seven states: Mato Grosso do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Mato Grosso, Goiás and Rondônia.
Investigations also indicate that the organization used heavy weapons and violence to control territories. Among the crimes attributed to the group are kidnappings, torture, attacks and homicides.
Low purity cocaine was used to replace seized drugs
MS delegate, Hoffman D’Ávila, is suspected of using his own police to divert 2 tons of cocaine — Photo: Reproduction/ PF
To prevent the diversions from being discovered, the group would have developed a method to replace the withdrawn cocaine with another of much lower quality. The original drug, with a high degree of purity, was exchanged for an adulterated mixture, with around 10% or less cocaine, according to the PF.
According to the Federal Police, Chief Hoffman would have facilitated the entry of members of the criminal organization into Denar and into the warehouse where drugs seized by security forces, such as the Military Police, Civil Police and Federal Highway Police, were stored.
The investigation shows that, on different occasions, higher quality cocaine was removed from stock and sold by the group. So that the difference would not be noticed, the criminals would replace it with an adulterated version.
According to the PF, the mixture contained substances such as corn starch, binders and yeast. The group would also have reproduced the visual identification of the original packaging and carried out tests to ensure that the substitute drug showed a similar reaction to cocaine in preliminary tests.
As a result, the adulterated cocaine was placed in place of the seized drug. Afterwards, the replaced material was sent for destruction, according to the investigation, by the police chief himself.
The PF claims to have found conversations, videos and images that show members of the organization handling the drug and entering Denar's premises.
The strategy would have exploited a failure in stock control: according to investigators, there was no strict supervision over the degree of purity of the cocaine stored. The identification carried out by the responsible bodies verified the presence of the substance, but did not allow its concentration to be accurately monitored.
Delegate would have accumulated mansion, farm and millions of reais
The investigation estimates that Hoffman sold each kilogram of the diverted cocaine for between R$8,500 and R$10,500. Over approximately two years, the value obtained would have reached at least R$15 million.
In addition to the money, the PF points out that the delegate accumulated assets incompatible with the origin of the resources investigated, including:
A high-end mansion in the Alphaville condominium, in Campo Grande;
A site in Pirenópolis, in Goiás;
Countless vehicles;
At least R$15 million obtained, according to the investigation, from the sale of diverted cocaine.
The investigation also identified financial movements of more than R$500 million in two years through the criminal organization. This value, however, corresponds to the financial movement attributed to the entire group, and not exclusively to the delegate.
Police officers facilitated access to drugs and passed on information
The PF identified the participation of civil and military police officers from Mato Grosso do Sul and a federal highway police officer from Mato Grosso. According to the investigation, the employees received money or goods in exchange for confidential information about the organization's rivals.
The agents are also suspected of helping the group gain access to drugs seized and stored in police units. Information passed on from within corporations was used to track the movements of people, vehicles and places of interest to criminals.
What the delegate's defense says in full.
"The Technical Defense of Police Chief Hoffman D’Ávila Cândido e Sousa informs that it has become aware of the execution of a new preventive arrest warrant and search and seizure measures within the scope of the so-called Operation Ifrit. To date, the Defense has not yet had full access to the files, the decision that supported the new custody nor the evidentiary elements that supported the measures. Given this, any statement on the merits would be premature. As soon as there is complete access to the procedure, the Defense will carry out the technical analysis of the case and will adopt all applicable procedural measures, ensuring the full exercise of contradictory and broad defense."
