Pará, Brazil: 26 Suspects Detained for Theft Charges

Globo reported on June 6, 2013 that Operation Asphalt Pirates; conducted by the Federal Police, arrested 26 suspects accused of cargo theft. Two police officers of Pará and Minas Gerais were involved in the scandal. The investigation; with the help of 200 police officers, began in February of last year, with criminal members in Goiás, Bahia, Ceará, Minas Gerais, Pará and São Paulo. Using violence to steal objects such as electronics, food, and building materials, the gang caused a loss of R$50 million since the investigation began. Police report much of the theft occurred in the Shadow Zone; the BR-153 highway between Belém-Brasília, in which gang members would approach moving trucks, kidnap drivers, and steal items. Read Article