RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Federal Police announced today that an investigation dubbed “Operation Free Flight” showed a pattern of fraud, carried out by federal officers at Tom Jobim International Airport, that cost the government $148 million in uncollected duties, reports terra.com.
Rio's International Airport (photo: visitriodejaneirobrasil.com)
According to Federal Police, wiretaps and security camera images prove the involvement of 12 Federal Tax Officers, three Federal Police Officers, and more than 100 individuals arriving on flights from Miami who were allowed to walk through customs without declaring items being brought into the country. No one has been arrested.
The superintendent of the Federal Police in Rio de Janeiro, agent Marcus Vinicius Pontes Vidal says that administrative actions are being taken by the Federal Tax Authority and the Federal Police against those involved. Three of the federal police officers involved in the scheme have already been suspended from duties. Despite the indictment, arrest warrants have not been issued by the courts.
Beginning in 2008, the federal police began investigating three types of fraud in the customs area at the airport. The police chief, Marcelo Freitas, coordinator of Operation Free Flight, said that the cases were broken down into three different type of fraudulent operations and were labeled: yellow cases, astronaut cases and VIP cases.
The yellow cases involved goods that were shipped by mail from the U.S. with a false declaration that were allowed to enter without inspection. The astronaut cases involved people who were allowed to enter the country on flights from Miami and bring goods, especially electronics (which are subject to a 100% duty), and not be inspected by customs after making false declarations. The VIP cases involved people arriving from abroad who were diverted entirely around customs never having to make a declaration.
The spokesman gives the example of one man caught in March with over one million reis—about seven hundred thousand U.S. dollars—worth of electronics who was allowed to make a false declaration and enter the country without paying any duty.
It is unclear whether or when arrests in the case are expected.
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Brazilian online news source for this article: terra.com.br
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This practice is being done in lots of airports worldwide. It is easy to bribe airport personnel into letting your smuggled goods enter the country. Few are being caught.
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