On Saturday (27), the Federal Police (PF) arrested a person and seized 290 kg of marijuana in a single-engine plane in Belém, Pará.
A CNN found that the aircraft is in the name of the Foursquare Church and is used by the former federal deputy Joshua Bengtson uncle of Senator and former Minister Damares Alves.
See below what we know about the case.
The operation
Around 7:30 am, the PF found the pilot walking towards the plane. Upon seeing the authorities, he ran out of the airport but was overtaken, according to police.
Inside the plane there were 290 kg of marijuana, which would be taken to Petrolina, in Pernambuco.
“The drug occupied all the space left on the aircraft, in addition to the seats for a passenger and the pilot,” explained the PF note.
An inquiry was opened to investigate the crime, and the plane was seized, as well as the cell phone of the arrested man.
“The pilot was not arrested, as his participation in the crime was not verified”, concluded the police.
Joshua Bengtson
The aircraft is in the name of the Foursquare Church and is used by the former federal deputy Joshua Bengtson uncle of the senator and former minister of the Family of the Bolsonaro government, Damares Alves.
In 2018, the Federal Court convicted Bengston, then a federal deputy, of illicit enrichment through the diversion of health resources in Pará, which became known as the ambulance mafia or leech scandal.
He lost his mandate, had his political rights suspended for eight years and had to pay around R$150,000 in fines and devolution of funds.
Note Damares Alves
In a statement, Damares’ advisory confirmed the relationship between the former minister and Bengston and said that, regarding the case, “the senator found out this morning through the press.”
Also according to the note sent to the CNN she got in touch with the family and “was informed that the complaint to the Federal Police about a suspicious load loaded on the aircraft was carried out by those responsible for the plane, that is, by the Church itself”.
Damares worked in the office of her uncle, Josué Bengston, in Brasília, from 1999 to 2002.
(Posted by Marina Toledo)
Source: CNN Brasil
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