The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro is carrying out, this Thursday (18), ten arrest warrants and 23 search and seizure warrants in the west zone of the capital against members of a gang specialized in theft and cloning of rented vehicles.
Dubbed “Operation Reditus,” agents participating in the operation are executing warrants in the neighborhoods of Jacarepaguá and Campo Grande. So far, seven people have been arrested.
Some of the gang members had already been arrested in flagrante delicto between 2022 and 2023 for stealing cars rented from rental companies.
Following the arrests, police investigations revealed the criminal scheme and led to other suspects belonging to the group. Ten of them were identified, indicted and had arrest warrants issued by the courts, in addition to the freezing of their assets.
The scheme
According to the police, one of the gang members was responsible for renting high-end cars from a car rental company. The car was then taken to addresses of other members of the organization, where the criminals installed a tracker.
Later, a locksmith would produce a spare key for the vehicle. The car would then be returned to the rental company and monitored by the suspects using the tracker.
The gang then waited for the vehicle to be rented by other people so they could determine a more opportune moment to steal it.
With access to the location of the cars and in possession of the spare key obtained, the group carried out the thefts.
After being stolen, the car was cloned and resold to other states and outside of Brazil. One of the destinations was Paraguay. Other cars were sent to be dismantled, with the parts removed and sold.
The police continue to serve arrest warrants this Thursday (18) against the other members of the gang.
Source: CNN Brasil
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