Earlier this month, the Superior Council of the MPF approved the creation of two groups specialized in combating organized crime: one focused on combating international human trafficking and migrant smuggling and the other on combating cybercrimes and those committed using information technologies.
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National Gaeco
The regulation of these groups, which facilitates cross-border action by prosecutors, paves the way to unlock the proposal for a national Gaeco — the special action group to combat organized crime.
The idea of a national Gaeco within the Ministry of Justice to integrate police officers was defended by Mario Luiz Sarrubbo, Ricardo Lewandowski’s choice for national secretary of Public Security. At the time, the proposal was criticized by entities linked to delegates and police officers.
New Gaeco Operation in São Paulo
Gaeco with the Public Ministry of São Paulo launched a new operation to dismantle a group associated with the Capital First Command (PCC) and suspected of rigging tenders throughout the state.
Three councilors from the cities of Cubatão, Ferraz de Vasconcelos, and Santa Isabel were arrested. They received bribes to favor the group’s companies in contracts for the provision of cleaning and surveillance services in municipal councils.
Cities with Contracts Under Analysis
Guarulhos, São Paulo, Ferraz de Vasconcelos, Cubatão, Arujá, Santa Isabel, Poá, Jaguariúna, Guarujá, Sorocaba, Buri, Itatiba and other municipalities have contracts under analysis. There is also a contract with the São Paulo state government that is under investigation.
Three Cores
According to the MP, the scheme had three very distinct nuclei: businesspeople and company employees, with a leadership linked to the criminal faction; lawyers who worked for companies; and political agents, who facilitated infiltration through the payment of bribes.
Analysis:
The delay in dismantling the links between the Capital First Command (PCC), the main criminal organization based in São Paulo, and the political sphere demonstrates a significant gap in combating organized crime. Although it was common knowledge that several parties, in practically all municipal councils, as well as key sectors such as transport and labor outsourcing, were under the influence of organized crime, this reality was largely ignored.
Recently, the coordinated actions of the Public Ministry and the São Paulo police, with two operations in one week, began to expose this interconnection, indicating that contracts not only in the areas already mentioned but in a wide range of sectors with links to the administrations public are under the influence of the PCC. These developments may suggest a paradigm shift in authorities’ approach to organized crime and its influence in the political sphere.
