This Tuesday (13), the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro carried out an operation against a drug and weapons trafficking scheme that, according to investigations, included the participation of military police officers working for the Comando Vermelho (CV).
The agents are suspected of passing on privileged information about police operations and participating in clandestine negotiations of weapons and ammunition destined for the criminal faction.
The action is coordinated by the Narcotics Repression Police Station (DRE) and has the participation of the Specialized Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco), the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), and the Military Police Internal Affairs.
The agents left to serve arrest warrants issued by the 16th Criminal Court of the Capital. The number of warrants was not reported.
The investigation began in October 2023, when civil police officers caught the then active PM Yuri Luiz Desiderati Ribeiro and Marcos Leandro de Oliveira Serra, known as Kiko, transporting more than 100 kilos of cocaine on Avenida Brasil.
From this seizure, investigators discovered evidence that the duo was part of an organization responsible for purchasing, transporting and distributing large quantities of drugs and weapons for the Red Command.
According to the DRE, the group had a division of tasks and acted in a coordinated manner to guarantee the supply of communities dominated by the faction.
The investigations identified Kiko as one of those responsible for the logistics of the trafficking. He maintained direct contact with CV leaders to organize the transportation and delivery of narcotics.
Through telephone interceptions authorized by the Court and the analysis of telematic data, investigators identified conversations between Kiko and Manoel Cinquine Pereira, known as Paulista, identified as one of the leaders of Comando Vermelho in Complexo da Penha.
According to the police, Paulista participated in the coordination for the purchase and distribution of drugs and weapons, in addition to coordinating members responsible for supplying the criminal organization.
One of the fronts of the investigation revealed the suspected participation of military police officers in the scheme. According to the Civil Police, agents had used information obtained as a result of their duties to benefit members of the Red Command.
Among those reported is PM Eric da Silva Lobato, identified as a participant in an illegal trade scheme for firearms, ammunition and accessories.
Another person being investigated is Luciano Santos de Oliveira, known as Hot Wheels, identified as a drug leader in several communities in São João de Meriti, in Baixada Fluminense.
According to the investigation, Hot Wheels received privileged information about police operations passed on by PM Yuri Desiderat. Investigators claim that the soldier used his position in the corporation to promote criminal activities.
The police also identified three other suspects who allegedly worked in the armed wing of Comando Vermelho:
Paulo Victor Soares de Melo
Leonardo Aguiar da Silva, "From Nike" (arrested)
Kauan Soares Omero, known as Do Serrão
According to the DRE, the three were responsible for the security of drug trafficking leaders and for monitoring territories controlled by the faction, using firearms to help maintain criminal dominance in these regions.
Yuri was executed on July 12 of this year, in Pechincha, in Jacarepaguá, in the Southwest Zone of Rio, hit by several gunshots when he arrived at the condominium where he lived. The murder is investigated by the Capital Homicide Police Station (DHC) and one of the suspicions is that the CV executed the PM.
The police officer had been arrested in the act in 2023, with more than 100 kilos of cocaine, in the episode that started the investigations.
Even after the soldier's death, the DRE continued investigations and identified other suspects of being part of the drug and weapons distribution network.
The Civil Police states that the operation seeks to target not only those responsible for transporting and selling illicit materials, but also the support structure that allows the Red Command to be supplied, including the participation of public agents.
