The actions follow on from the mobilizations of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security as a result of the 1st Action Plan to Combat Migrant Smuggling
The Federal Police launched two operations this Friday (August 23, 2024) to combat migrant smuggling networks. The actions are a continuation of the mobilizations that the Ministry of Justice and Public Security established, mainly after July, when it launched the 1st Action Plan to Combat Migrant Smuggling.
Operation Vuelta identified the actions of an international criminal organization, with activities in the Dominican Republic, which recruited victims for smuggling, passing through Brazil and heading to Europe, with false documentation obtained in Colombia and Spain.
Two search and seizure warrants were served in Guarulhos (SP), the main entry point for migrants, via Guarulhos Airport. An arrest warrant and a Circumstantial Term were also served under article 308 of the Penal Code (using another person’s document as one’s own).
Two victims of the coyote network were on a flight that left the Dominican Republic and arrived in Brazil in the early hours of this Friday (August 23). Another 13 people were in the house where one of the search and seizure warrants was served.
The general coordinator of Human Rights of the PF, Daniel Daher, stated, through a note, that “investigations carried out by the Federal Police to combat human trafficking, illegal migration and related crimes demonstrate that transnational criminal groups and organizations use migration routes that pass through Brazil, with a view to achieving their nefarious objectives”.
Operation Sáfaro, carried out in Minas Gerais, targeted a network that was taking Brazilians to the United States via the land border with Mexico. The victims were from the eastern part of the state and were emigrating using a practice known by the authorities as cai-cai, in which entire families, real or fictitious, turn themselves in to avoid or hinder the immediate deportation process.
8 search and seizure warrants, 2 preventive arrest warrants and 4 temporary arrest warrants were served, in addition to the blocking of R$ 35 million of accounts attributed to criminals.
Delegate Daher said that “the financial resources handled by those investigated by Operation Sáfaro denote the economic power of their respective groups, which, despite the fallacious idea of making dreams come true that they promise migrants, pose real risks to fundamental values, such as life, physical and psychological integrity, freedom and dignity”.
The practices of these networks have led tens of thousands of people to risky situations in recent years, such as exposure for weeks to inadequate food and hygiene conditions in the international area of the passenger terminal at Guarulhos Airport, said the PF.
MIGRANT DEATH FROM GHANA
A Ghanaian citizen died this month after suffering a heart attack at the airport. The increase in the flow of these migrants has overwhelmed the teams that initiate the asylum process and the social assistance structures in the city of Guarulhos, leading to the city’s request to be considered a border municipality.
The Ministry of Justice will change reception rules for passengers in transit from Monday (26 August), preventing victims who submit false requests for refuge at the airport from escaping.
In a statement, the National Secretary of Justice, Jean Keiji Uema, said that around 70% of migrants come from Southeast Asia and give up on continuing their journey upon arriving in Brazil, and that there is an expectation that, with the new restriction, these people, when without a visa, will begin to be denied entry into Brazil and that airlines will ensure that they continue to the destination specified on their ticket.
“Asylum is a legal instrument to protect people who are persecuted in their countries of origin. We cannot allow it to be used for human trafficking and migrant smuggling.”said Uema.
COMPLAINTS
If someone witnesses cases of human smuggling, there are appropriate channels for reporting and support, such as Dial 100, for anonymous reports; Dial 180, for violations against women and girls, and the National Human Rights Ombudsman, available at website of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship.
With information from Brazil Agency.
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