A woman accused of participating in the kidnapping of former player Marcelinho Carioca was arrested red-handed last Friday (21) in a high-end condominium in the city of Igaratá, in the interior of São Paulo. She, whose name was not disclosed, is suspected of being part of a gang specializing in scams.
According to the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat, the criminals had a center that used satellite communication technology and pretended to be bank employees. During the action, another 11 people were arrested, aged between 22 and 30 years old.
The police arrived at the condominium following a complaint from neighbors, who were surprised by the movement of people arriving and leaving with notebooks, headphones and other electronic items.
Some criminals tried to escape through the back of the residence, but were injured and were caught. They received medical attention and were taken to the police station. The other six were arrested without resisting the police approach.
12 notebooks, 18 cell phones, five headphones and three vehicles were seized at the residence. The case was registered as theft, criminal association, disobedience and seizure of an object.
Also according to the folder, one of the police officers called a victim, a 76-year-old judge from the state of Rio de Janeiro. The woman reported that the scammers transferred almost R$50,000 from her account. One of the suspects pretended to be the elderly woman’s manager and obtained the data to operate her account.
Still on the computers, the team found guidance scripts for operational executors to make victims fall for the scam.
Marcelinho Carioca case
Marcelinho Carioca was kidnapped in Itaquaquecetuba, in Greater São Paulo, and went missing on December 17th and 18th last year. He was caught by criminals after leaving singer Thiaguinho’s show at the Neo Química Arena, in Itaquera, east of São Paulo.
The former player was held captive with a friend, who works at the Itaquaquecetuba Department of Sports and Leisure.
During the kidnapping and in an attempt to mislead the investigations, the former player was forced to record a video where he said he had an affair with his friend.
Seven people were indicted for involvement in the kidnapping of Marcelinho Carioca in December 2023. The former player was found by the police and regretted having been forced to record the video.
The court scheduled the trial of the seven defendants accused of kidnapping the former player for August 2nd.
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Source: CNN Brasil
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