Seven people were arrested during an operation by the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, with the aim of dismantling a criminal organization specialized in receiving stolen and stolen vehicles from embezzlement.
According to the investigations, the criminals, who had been operating for at least five years, also promoted tampering with cars and then cloned them and sold them.
In the action of this Thursday (20) 70 search and seizure warrants were fulfilled. In addition, among the 25 indicted, 17 had their preventive detention ordered.
According to the Civil Police, the vehicles were sold with documents issued by the State Traffic Department (Detran). The group operated throughout the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro, Region of the Lagos, in the North, Northeast and Northwest of Fluminense, as well as in other states, such as São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais.
The investigations began after Sílvio Ricardo Martins Aguiar was arrested in flagrante delicto, for the crime of receiving. He was in a stolen and cloned car. The Police then obtained judicial authorization to analyze the contents of the prisoner’s cell phone and identified other members of the criminal organization.
Through telephone interception, also authorized by the court, 13,000 calls and message exchanges were analyzed.
Investigations point to Silvio Ricardo and two other men as leaders of the gang. The other members of the organization were responsible for tampering, transporting and reselling the vehicles.
There was also the work of dispatchers and a Detran employee, who issued documents, enabling the resale and circulation of vehicles with apparent legality.
The criminals had, according to the police, contact with drug dealers and were able to buy stolen vehicles for values below the market (around one thousand reais). The gang also bought cars that had been fraudulently rented from rental companies and not returned, as well as from owners who carried out the insurance scam.
Source: CNN Brasil
