The PF (Federal Police) of Dionisio Cerqueira, in the far west of Santa Catarina, launched Operation Res Publica on Tuesday (18). The goal is to eliminate the criminal scheme of money laundering, theft of wines and smuggling of illegal goods on the border between Brazil and Argentina.

The operation of the Federal Police Dionisio Cerqueira on Tuesday (18) executed a search and seizure warrant in Francisco Beltrao / PR. – Photo: Federal Police/Reproduction/ND

The police are executing a search and seizure warrant in the city of Francisco Beltran/PR, in addition to seizing property, vehicles, valuables and other financial assets in the accounts of persons under investigation.

The investigation indicates that the defendants are transporting and selling wines of foreign origin without proper customs and tax clearance, in addition to other illegal goods of foreign origin.

The OF found that the criminals were laundering money from illegal luxury real estate buying activities and apparently illegal financial transactions.

The crimes under investigation are embezzlement, smuggling and money laundering, the maximum punishment for which is up to 10 years in prison.

The name of the operation “Res Publica” comes from the illegal enrichment of the participants at the expense of the state treasury, which is a Latin expression, literally meaning “the cause of the people” or “public cause”.