Bahia Police targets network of suspicious posts and points to financial link with the PCC

The Bahia Civil Police launched an operation this Thursday (16) against a scheme that, according to investigators, used gas stations as a front for money laundering and fuel adulteration.

The action, which expanded to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, resulted in the arrest of seven people and the seizure of weapons, high-value vehicles and equipment used in fuel adulteration.

The investigations, carried out by the Department of Repression and Combating Corruption, Organized Crime and Money Laundering (Draco), identified a network of around 200 posts linked to the group.

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Investigations indicated strong links between the group and large criminal structures in Baixada Fluminense, especially the so-called “cigarette mafia”.

Based on documents and financial movements collected throughout the investigations, the police requested the blocking of R$6.5 billion in assets, properties and valuables belonging to the suspects. The figure, in the authorities’ assessment, demonstrates the economic dimension of the operation.

Investigators point out that the structure had connections with a criminal organization originating in São Paulo, in a trait that refers to previous investigations called Operation Hidden Carbon.

In August, the investigation into fraud in the fuel sector revealed million-dollar imports of naphtha, hydrocarbons and diesel — estimated at around R$10 billion between 2020 and 2024 — and identified gas stations used as a resource laundering point.

The current operation, according to police sources, deepens the line of investigation that links schemes in the fuel market to groups specialized in mining illicit revenue.

The warrants carried out included arrests and searches of homes, business establishments and places associated with those being investigated. One of the arrests took place in a hotel in the city of Lençóis. In addition to material seizures, authorities collected documents and accounting and operational records to support the criminal and tax investigation.

Around 170 civil police officers are taking part in the action, with technical and operational support from the Bahia Finance Department (Sefaz-BA) and the National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP). The work seeks not only to identify the chain of command and beneficiaries of the scheme, but also to map the route of imported inputs and the mechanisms for hiding assets.