The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, with support from the Civil Police of Santa Catarina, launched an operation this Wednesday morning (28) against a criminal group suspected of tampering with stuffed animal machines to obtain financial advantages.
Nineteen search and seizure warrants are being served in Rio de Janeiro, Baixada Fluminense and Santa Catarina as part of Operation Mãos Leves 2.
According to the Rio Police Department for the Repression of Crimes Against Intellectual Property (DRCPIM), the claw used to capture the prize in this type of machine was modified so as not to release enough force for consumers to be able to grab the plush toy.
The investigations began after information was received that the companies ‘Black Entertainment’ and ‘London Adventure’ were using fake plush dolls of registered characters in machines located in several shopping malls in the Rio metropolitan region. At the time, Operation Mãos Leves 1 was launched in May of this year.
Subsequently, tests carried out on the machines by the Carlos Éboli Criminalistics Institute (ICCE) concluded that the electronic system is susceptible to programming that allows the player to successfully capture the plush toy only after a certain number of plays.
According to the report, the system has a game counter that, as programmed by the machine operator, releases an electric current that generates enough power to move the claw only after a certain number of games. In other words, only after trying several times — and paying for it — would the customer have any chance of winning.
The investigation revealed that the machines are operated through a fraudulent process that deceives consumers.
The Civil Police also found that one of the targets of the operation was already investigated, among other crimes, for gambling linked to slot machines, which raised suspicions of the participation of criminal organizations linked to the animal gambling mafia in the activity.
In today’s operation, in addition to pirated machines and stuffed animals, cell phones, computers, notebooks, tablets and documents were seized, which will be examined by the Civil Police to try to unravel the structure of the criminal group, as well as identify the participation of other members and criminal organizations that may be involved.
Investigations are also ongoing to determine possible money laundering and other financial crimes that may have been committed.
Members of the organization may be held liable for crimes against the popular economy, against consumers, against intangible property, criminal association and gambling offenses.
This content was originally published in Plush scam: operation targets group suspected of defrauding toy machines on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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