The Rio de Janeiro Civil Police have identified 34 people as perpetrators of arson attacks in the state. So far, five people have been arrested and nine people have been indicted. The teams are awaiting expert reports to indict the other suspects.
According to the Secretary of the Civil Police, Felipe Curi, the damage to the environment was incalculable.
“The cost of restoring these ecosystems is incalculable, given the lives that have been lost. We cannot, for example, put a price on the life of a wild animal. Not to mention the loss of carbon credits, which are so important to our state. Our actions are being assertive in combating this type of crime,” he explained.
During the fires, agents from the Environmental Protection Department (DPMA), in partnership with police stations in the interior, carried out investigations to determine the origin of the fires.
In the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, forensic work was carried out on three fire sites. During the investigation, the police managed to identify a teenager. He went to the police station with the person responsible and admitted to having set fire to the wooded area in Pedro do Rio and Secretário, districts of Petrópolis.
The agents also heard witnesses and analyzed images from security cameras in the Vila Inglesa region, in Petrópolis, and in the Serra da Tiririca National Park, in Niterói.
On Wednesday (18), after a joint action with the 91st Police Station of Valença, the police managed to arrest the 61-year-old man who was caught setting fire in the protected area of Serra da Beleza. He set fire at KM 52, on the side of the RJ-143 highway. A motorcycle, the clothes and the helmet he was wearing on the day of the incident were found with this suspect.
The operation against arson was called Operation Curupira. In addition to the civil police officers, the operation had the support of the State Secretariat for the Environment (Seas) and the State Institute for the Environment (INEA).
Police said the investigation is ongoing to identify the suspects and prosecute those responsible for the fires.
The operation is coordinated by the Sub-Secretariat of Planning and Operational Integration (SSPIO) through the General Department of Specialized Police (DGPE) and the General Department of Police of the Interior of Rio.
The Fire Department reported that there are currently no active fires across the state.
This content was originally published in RJ Police identify 34 suspects of starting arson attacks on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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