Van seized with 174 marijuana tablets is rented by city hall in Paraíba with a contract worth R$ 261 thousand

The van seized with 174 tablets of a substance similar to marijuana, in the Cuiá neighborhood, in João Pessoa, is rented to the city council of Mataraca, on the North Coast, according to information collected by Rede Paraíba. The rental value is R$261 thousand and valid for 12 months. The car is registered in the name of the Civil Police chief, Walter Brandão.

The vehicle is linked, through rental, to the Municipal Health Fund through the company J P dos Prazeres Lucena. The company has the initials of João Paulo dos Prazeres Lucena, who would be the owner of the enterprise and an informal partner of delegate Walter Brandão. The two reported in a statement to the Civil Police the existence of the informal society.

Walter Brandão and João Paulo Prazeres provided information to the police as witnesses. They say they were unaware of the drugs found inside the vehicle and that they are victims of the situation.

The owner of the workshop where the van was found, Geovani Rodrigues Fernandes, was arrested red-handed. He had the keys to the vehicle when officers arrived at the scene. He remained silent when questioned by the Civil Police.

The Civil Police of Paraíba reported that it initiated an investigative procedure to determine the circumstances of the seizure and that it will continue the investigations.

Rental contract with the city hall

According to the Sagres system, of the State Court of Auditors (TCE), J P dos Prazeres Lucena has had contracts with the city of Mataraca since at least the year 2020. With contracted services ranging between R$ 173 thousand and R$ 225 thousand per year for the transport of health professionals.

The current contract between city hall and company is valid for 12 months and started in March 2026. The procedure establishes the transport of health professionals from João Pessoa to Mataraca during the week.

In total, from 2020 to now, the company would have received almost R$1.2 million from the city hall to provide services.

What the city hall says

In a statement, the city of Mataraca said that "the vehicle recently seized by the Police provided services to the Municipality under a transport contract, the purpose of which was exclusively to transport health professionals from João Pessoa to Mataraca, to serve the population in the municipal health network".

The note also states that "the aforementioned vehicle was not available to the City Hall for any other activities, and its contractual use was restricted to transporting health professionals on the aforementioned route. Therefore, any use of the vehicle for purposes other than those stipulated in the contract do not form part of the services contracted by the Municipal Administration."

What the delegate says

In a note, delegate Walter Brandão informed that the vehicle was left at the workshop on October 29th, by a service provider, and stated that he was unaware of the existence of the substances found. The police chief gave a statement on Sunday (1st) about the case, at Central de Flagrantes.

"I was surprised by the news that the vehicle had been used for illicit activities, without my knowledge or consent. I am a victim of this situation, as could any citizen who, in good faith, entrusts his vehicle to a workshop to carry out a repair", said the delegate.

Still in a statement, delegate Walter Brandão declared that he trusts the rigorous investigation of the facts and stated that he is "absolutely calm".