Former Russian soldier arrested in Salvador wanted to set up weapons and drugs network for factions in Brazil

Former Russian soldier Sergei Kotelnikov was arrested in Salvador on Saturday (10). He intended to set up a weapons and drug trafficking network for Brazilian factions.

Sentenced to life in prison in Russia, Kotelnikov was in the Interpol Red Diffusion. He was located after intelligence actions in the state of Bahia.

The arrest took place in the Águas Claras neighborhood by Operation Artemis. The suspect was taken to the Federal Police to begin extradition procedures.

Russian Sergei Kotelnikov, 29, arrested in Salvador on Saturday (10), aimed to structure a weapons, ammunition and drug distribution network in Brazil. The information was released by the Public Security Secretariat of Bahia (SSP-BA), which names the foreigner as a suspect of trying to sell weapons to Brazilian criminal factions.

Sentenced to life in prison in Russia for drug trafficking and using a false document, the former soldier was located in the Águas Claras neighborhood, in the capital of Bahia.

According to SSP-BA, he had been in Bahia for less than a month when he was found during an action that included the participation of the Integrated Force to Combat Organized Crime (FICCO) Bahia, the Military Police and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

The arrest took place during another phase of Operation Artemis, after Brazilian authorities received information about the possibility of the Russian trying to hide in the state.

According to information released by SSP-BA, Sergei Kotelnikov was sentenced to life in prison in his home country after being caught with 600 kg of cocaine and a false document.

The Russian was wanted internationally and was included in the so-called Interpol Red Diffusion, a mechanism used to request the location and provisional arrest of people wanted by the courts of a country, with a view to extradition or other legal procedures.

According to the secretariat, in addition to trying to sell weapons and ammunition to Brazilian criminal groups, Kotelnikov intended to structure a network to distribute these materials and drugs throughout the country.

The Russian's location in Salvador occurred after information was shared between Brazilian authorities and Interpol.

The Secretary of Public Security of Bahia, Marcelo Werner, stated that the teams intensified their intelligence actions after receiving an alert about the possibility of the foreigner hiding in the state.

"We intensified intelligence actions, after Interpol warned us about the possibility of him trying to hide in Bahia. He chose the wrong location and ended up arrested," he said.

After his arrest, Kotelnikov was taken to the Federal Police headquarters in Salvador. Russian authorities will be notified, and procedures for the extradition of the convicted person will begin.