The Brazilian Federal Police arrested on Tuesday 50 people accused of belonging to an international drug traffic gang.
The arrests took place in Rio Grande do Sul state, in the country's southern border. According to the police, the gang is also suspected of
being involved in bank and shop robberies.
A total of 280 officers were involved in the so-called Operation Castelo (Castle), the police stated; 68 prison warrants and 59 search warrants were issued in the operation. Out of the arrested, 15 were already in jail for other felonies; two others were policemen from the towns of Pelotas and Capao do Leao.
According to the police, investigations started in March. The officers found out that the gang operated mainly in the metro area of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state's capital city, and negotiated about 100 kilograms of cocaine and 1.2 million crack stones per month.
The criminals were organized in 10 smaller gangs. The drug was transported to Brazil from Colombia via Paraguay, to supply the market in
Porto Alegre. According to the police, the gang was responsible for 80 percent of the crack consumed in Porto Alegre.
The arrested will be charged with international drug traffic. If convicted, they can spend from five to 15 years in jail.