Nephew of PCC leader is killed by Rota in Santos

A 36-year-old man was shot by police officers from Rondas Ostensivas Tobias de Aguiar (Rota) and died, on Saturday night, the 10th, in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo. A rifle was seized from his vehicle, a Jeep Compass.

According to the Civil Police, the suspect was the nephew of a leader of the First Command of the Capital (PCC) and had links to the criminal faction. With this, there are 19 suspects killed this month in Baixada Santista in clashes with police during Operation Verão, according to data from the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP).

According to the ministry, the police were investigating a report that the suspect was carrying a rifle and, upon recognizing his car traveling on Avenida Martins Fontes, in the Saboó neighborhood, they tried to approach him. The man reacted by throwing his vehicle against the police vehicle. The police responded by shooting the suspect.

The man, whose name was not released by the ministry, was taken to Santa Casa de Santos, but did not survive. In the vehicle, the police found a 556 caliber rifle. According to the SSP, the person involved had convictions for attempted murder and criminal association. Criminal experts from the Civil Police carried out surveys at the scene and the circumstances of the incident will be investigated.

According to the Civil Police, the dead man was the nephew of Fernando Gonçalves dos Santos, known by the nicknames Azul and Colorido, identified as a member of the PCC leadership. Azul is serving a sentence for robbery, drug trafficking and association for drug trafficking at the Federal Penitentiary of Porto Velho (TO).

In February 2019, Santos and 21 other members of the PCC leadership, including Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, known as Marcola, the faction's top leader, were transferred from Presidente Venceslau Penitentiary II to federal units. Investigations by the State Public Prosecutor's Office discovered a plan to rescue prisoners and attacks on judicial authorities.

In Baixada Santista, the MP's investigations showed that Azul had joined forces with other criminals to control international cocaine trafficking using the Santos port structure.

Baixada Santista under tension

The coast of São Paulo has seen an escalation of tension in recent weeks, after three military police officers were murdered by suspects, triggering a reaction from the security forces. Policing in the region, which is normally reinforced with the so-called Operation Summer, during the high season, gained extra support after the deaths of the police officers.

The Tarcísio de Freitas (Republican) administration transferred the SSP office to Santos, in an attempt to curb the wave of violence. In some cases, family members point to innocent people among those killed by the police.

In a statement, the SSP stated that all cases are investigated by the Civil Police, with monitoring by the Public Ministry and the Judiciary.

Until the publication of this text, the report had not been able to contact the defense of the man killed this Saturday, the 10th, nor had it received feedback from the lawyer who acted as defender of Fernando Gonçalves dos Santos in recent cases. The space remains open.