November 29, 2023
Reading time • 5 min
Federal Police launch operation to combat cigarette smuggling in three northeastern states
The Federal Police launched Operation Tenacidade on Tuesday (28) to crack down on foreign cigarette smuggling in the Northeast region.
The action mobilised 19 teams of federal police officers, who carried out seven arrest warrants and 19 search warrants in nine cities, spread across the states of Pernambuco, Alagoas and Paraíba.
Operation Tenacidade is an offshoot of Operation Pertinácia, which resulted in the seizure of almost 900 cartons of cigarettes in the city of Cupira, Agreste de Pernambuco, in June this year, as well as arrests in flagrante for possession, illegal possession of firearms and illegal storage of illicit cigarettes.
The primary focus of these operations is to financially dismantle a criminal organisation that sells smuggled cigarettes in the region, which includes the enforcement of a court order to seize 10 million reais, an amount proven to have been moved by the criminal group between 2018 and 2023.
