05/10/2024 – 11:34
An operation by the São Paulo Civil Police seized five dismantled aircraft in the warehouse of a farm, in Joanópolis, in the interior of São Paulo, this Thursday, 3. The suspicion is that the parts would be used to assemble planes known as ‘Frankenstein’ to be used by organized crime to transport drugs.
The warehouse was located during the execution of search and seizure warrants issued by the 2nd Court of Tax Crimes, Criminal Organization and Laundering of Goods and Valuables in the capital in an action that investigates financial operations linked to the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC).
According to delegate Marcos Galli Casseb, from the 30th Police District (Tatuapé), these reassembled aircraft are often used to transport drugs and other criminal activities. “Today we have a method of transporting illegal objects, such as drugs, money and gold from illegal mines, in which they use aircraft known as ‘Frankenstein’. They are aircraft assembled with used parts, to which a supplementary tank is added to increase autonomy and fly below airport radars,” he told the Estadão.
According to the police officer, the planes are assembled with parts purchased from scrap yards or sold at auctions, like cars known as ‘cabritos’. “We call the practice chicken flight, which is a single flight. They load the cocaine, transport it and, when they get there, they burn the aircraft to prevent identification,” he explained.
As the owner of the warehouse in Joanópolis where the plane parts were seized was not named by the police, due to the confidentiality of the investigation, the reporter was unable to contact his defense. In his statement, according to information from the delegate, he denied any involvement with organized crime and said that the purchases of dismantled planes were declared to the Federal Revenue Service.
Start in Tatuapé
The operation carried out at the Joanópolis farm began as a result of an investigation into the role of organized crime and money laundering in the purchase and sale of luxury cars and expensive apartments in the Tatuapé neighborhood, in the east zone of the capital. “During one of the investigations, we identified that there was a shell company whose owner was a bricklayer and his company had a plane worth R$5 million, a twin engine that we seized in August this year,” he said.
As reported by the Estadãoon August 7, agents from the 30th DP seized the Bandeirante Embraer EMB-110 plane that belonged to a fleet purchased by drug traffickers linked to the PCC. The aircraft, valued at R$5 million, was registered in the name of a pilot linked to a drug trafficker who transported cocaine for Mexican cartels and was the target of Operation Terra Fértil, launched by the PF in June.
According to the delegate, the Civil Police investigation is connected to that of the PF. “We were looking for three planes, but we only found the one from Campo de Marte. It was suspected that a plane was in a hangar in Bragança Paulista and we executed a search warrant there. We didn’t find the plane, but we seized documents and saw that the owner owned this place in Joanópolis, where we seized the parts and fuselages. Now we are going to investigate their origin and destination”, said the delegate.
Heard at the 30th DP, the businessman denied any involvement with organized crime. He stated that he imported the partially dismantled aircraft from the United States and that he dismantled them to sell the parts. “It’s strange because we know that Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) is highly strict when it comes to replacing parts in aircraft. He has to present the documentation about this import and we are waiting.”
There are no landing strips near the warehouse and the parts arrived by land, according to the delegate. The businessman’s name was not disclosed, as the police investigation is being conducted under secrecy as it involves financial transactions. According to the police officer, both the owner of the ‘orange’ company and the owner of the aircraft reside in Tatuapé.
The investigation has already found that a plane took off from Bragança Paulista airport and landed in Honduras, Central America, and was then set on fire.
It is suspected that the aircraft carried a load of cocaine. According to the police officer, Honduras is an exchange point for aircraft that fly drugs to Mexico. “The owner of the site confirmed that some of the aircraft he sold crashed with drugs, but he claims that they were sold in legal transactions. We will have to investigate this too”, he said.
The dismantled parts seized in Joanópolis are North American, as they have a prefix with the letter “N” at the beginning. What the investigation will determine is what the fate of the planes would be.
“He brings in aircraft purchased at auction in the United States, which may be legal, but we want to know where these planes go. We are still waiting for purchase documentation. The investigations will continue.”
The delegate said that, as soon as he receives the expert reports, he will inform Anac about the investigation. “I need to know whether the possible use of these parts would be approved by Anac. We will forward the expert reports on the pieces, which have not yet been delivered, and ask for Anac to tender”, he said.
Anac reported in a statement that it was not involved in the operation in question, and the agency’s participation in these events occurs when requested by the police authority. “It is also worth clarifying that Anac always collaborates with its technical knowledge when requested by the police,” he said.
In pieces
Frankenstein is the term taken from the name of a character in the book by writer Mary Shelley, which tells the story of a natural sciences student, Victor Frankenstein, who uses parts of dead people’s bodies to create a monster. The name is used in police circles to designate planes assembled with parts of other aircraft for drug trafficking.
As reported by the EstadãoOn July 2nd, the PF launched Operation Terra Fértil targeting a gang suspected of sending cocaine to Latin American countries, especially supplying Mexican cartels. According to the PF, the group was led by an international drug trafficker and some members are linked to the PCC. The investigation showed that the criminal organization had generated more than R$5 billion in five years.
Regarding Operation Terra Fértil, the PF reported that investigations are still ongoing.
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