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The Civil Police and the Public Ministry of Maranhão launched an operation against a criminal organization suspected of dumping around 60 tons of ammunition in the illegal market in the North and Northeast of the country.
The scheme used, according to the investigation, eight companies opened in the name of oranges to legally acquire weapons and ammunition that ended up being passed on to the clandestine market. The material, sold at a much higher price than the current one, arrived at points of sale in at least three states –Maranhão, Piauí and Pará– in trucks with false bottoms, forming, according to the police and the Public Ministry, one of the largest businesses illegal firearms and ammunition in the country.
Police and prosecutors also suspect the participation of an army member in the scheme. He would pass on privileged information to the criminal organization, such as leaking dates of operations.
