A group that practiced the “mourning coup”, extorting relatives of dead people, was the target of an operation in Rio Grande do Sul, last Monday (11). Two preventive arrest warrants were served against members of the organization.
According to investigations by the Civil Police, the group chose victims who had recently lost relatives, sought information about them and got in touch, inventing that the dead family members had made complaints to the police and, therefore, had been executed.
They then demanded large sums of money to guarantee the safety of the victims and their families.
The threats were constant and made violently, causing great psychological suffering to the victims.
In one of the cases, one of the victims even paid R$13,700 to the criminals, afraid of suffering the same consequences as the murdered family member.
The group’s actions extended throughout Rio Grande do Sul, with victims recorded in several cities, such as Sapiranga, Farroupilha, Cachoeira do Sul, Santana do Livramento, Erechim, Seberi, Rodeio Bonito, Feliz, Serafina Corrêa, in addition to cases in Santa Catarina.
In addition to executing the arrest warrants, cell phones were also seized.
The investigation continues to determine the actions of other people involved in the crimes.
According to Delegate Rodrigo Camara, responsible for the operation, evidence against the criminals was obtained through telephone interception and data analysis, which revealed the group’s organized actions.
One of the perpetrators of the crimes was imprisoned in the Caxias do Sul Penitentiary and, even so, managed to carry out the coup.
The operation was carried out by the Campo Bom Civil Police, with support from the Caxias do Sul Organized Crime Repression Police Station.
*Under the supervision of Bruno Laforé
This content was originally published in Golpe do Luto: group extorts grieving families to ask for money in RS on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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