São Paulo Police Launch Operation Argyros to Disrupt Interstate Drug and Money-Laundering Network

Overview

• Police executed 23 court orders, including four arrest warrants and 19 searches, across the capital, Carapicuíba, Bragança Paulista, Botucatu, Ponta Porã and Aral Moreira.
• Roughly 70 Deic officers from the DISCCPAT division carried out the coordinated raids in São Paulo state and Mato Grosso do Sul.
• Authorities reported one arrest in flagrante for illegal firearm possession as the operation unfolded.
• Seizures so far include a 7.62-caliber rifle, two vehicles, a press machine, drug-packaging with residues, about R$35,000 in cash, luxury bags and watches, computers and phones slated for forensic analysis.
• The probe targets a network that allegedly laundered trafficking proceeds through shell companies, with ongoing efforts to trace and freeze high-value assets.