by Michael Hone
Dynamite and vehicles seized, one killed in shootout
SALVADOR, Bahia – An action by the Military Police in the city of Camacan, 326 miles from the capital, dismantled a criminal gang, arrested 7, killed one, seized drugs and 150 sticks of dynamite. The gang, with ties to the state of Espirito Santo, was targeted by the 62nd Independent Military Police of Camacan (CIPM) on Tuesday night.
According to Major Rodrigues, commander of the 62nd CIPM, a member of the gang died during a shootout with police who also arrested 7 people during the action.
An anonymous tip led police to a suspicious vehicle in the Pimento district of the municipality of Mascote, at about 6:30 pm. “Officers located the vehicle, and were about to approach, when they were spotted by members of the gang who, upon seeing the officers, fled into a thicket. Other members of the gang stayed and resisted arrest. There was an exchange of gunfire and one of them was killed,” CIPM commander Rodrigues is quoted as saying on the website correios24horas.com.br.
An officer and one of the bandits involved were injured during the confrontation. “Lieutenant Valdinei, who commanded the action, was shot in the abdomen, but he was wearing body armor which stopped the bullet and he was not seriously injured,” commander Rodrigues continued.
The commander confirmed that Marcio dos Santos Reis, who was part of the gang and who was shot during the confrontation, was taken to the Camacan Foundation Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and died. Three others were arrested: Geiton Carvalo Gomes, 20; Cleber Pessoas dos Santos, 25; and, Maria Magna Santana, 23.
In addition to the arrests, police seized a red Volkswagen Gol with license plates from the municipality of Pedro Canario, a city in the state of Espirito Santo. Inside the car police discovered explosives, including dynamite.
“Inside the car we found 18 homemade bombs, three larger bombs made from fire extinguishers, 27 detonators and two 12-gauge shotguns with 28 rounds of ammunition,” said commander Rodrigues.
“We also found a knife, a crowbar, various tools, hooks, fishing nets and a big spool of wire detonators. They also had some tablets and about 500 grams of a substance that appeared to be cocaine,” he continued.
Hours later, another group of Military Police returned to the site of the gunfight seeking others involved in the gang who fled when police originally approached the suspicious car. They arrested four more people and seized another car and two motorcycles all with license plates from Espirito Santo.
Police arrested Jose Santos Alves, Maxuel Gomes, Leticia Santos Neves, Erlinda Candido da Silva and Josenildo da Silva Pessoa—the gang leader. “We know that these four have ties to the gang, one of them was the explosive transportation expert,” said the commander.
“We are still investigating, but it is likely that this gang was distributing explosives to other gangs which blast open ATMs—judging by the amount of explosives they were carrying,” concluded the major.
The seven arrested are being held at the Camacan police station, where they will be interrogated by police.
Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch
Brazilian online news source for this article: O Globo
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