What message did those responsible want to send with the murder of the CCP informant?

Public safety expert details how murder at Brazil’s largest airport highlights the severity of organized crime’s advance

Antônio Vinicius Lopes Gritzbach, an informant for the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), was murdered in broad daylight at Guarulhos international airport, the largest in Brazil and South America and the second busiest in Latin America in terms of numbers of passengers. Police are investigating whether the order for the crime came from the same faction, but there is still uncertainty as to who ordered it. To date, eight military police officers have been dismissed on suspicion of involvement in the case, which remains under investigation.

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Despite the uncertainty on minds, a crime committed in broad daylight, in such a crowded place, may have been planned to send a message. This is what Rafael Alcadipani, professor at FGV and specialist in public safety, underlines.

“Undoubtedly there is an interest in causing panic. We have a completely planned and meticulous action to kill a criminal who, literally, has been sworn to death by organized crime. I think this is a response to those who betray them, because organized crime There are very clear rules regarding betrayal: anyone who betrays is killed.”

Organized criminal groups consist of three or more individuals, with a certain level of structure and prolonged existence, focused on the commission of at least one serious crime. Furthermore, these groups act with the main objective of obtaining financial or material benefits. These groups often profit from the offering of illicit goods and services. Therefore, if the informant was murdered by the CCP or possibly by police officers, he was the target of an organized criminal group.

For Alcadipani, the murder was not just an act of violence, but a demonstration of the strength of the country’s criminal organization. “Drug trafficking, unfortunately, has had a very strong presence in Brazil,” explained the expert. “An action like this is not for amateurs. It is something very planned, managed and conducted. Someone who is very sure of what he is doing.”

According to the expert, drug trafficking has been the PCC’s main source of income since Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, known as Marcola, took over the leadership of the group in 2000 and redefined its orientation. Under his direction, the CCP underwent a restructuring that included the creation of “tunes” and the decentralization of power, which increased both the organization’s profits and the need to launder money – an activity Gritzbach performed for the faction.

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The PCC was born in 1993 at the Casa de Custódia de Taubaté, in the hinterland of São Paulo, with the proposal of acting as a “crime syndicate”, denouncing abuses in the prison system and promoting a “war against the system”. Under Marcola’s leadership, however, the faction transformed into a profit-oriented organization, operating much like a corporation.

Currently, the Public Prosecutor’s investigations indicate that the criminal faction has also managed to infiltrate state public services, acting through public transport companies, waste collection companies and socio-health organisations.

“Boldness” of the faction

According to Professor Rafael Alcadipani, the attack on the faction’s informant in a busy place like the airport reveals the “audacity” of organized crime and the challenge it represents for the state. He stressed that actions of this kind highlight the reach of these criminals and the control they exercise in certain areas, especially where public power is lacking. “Organized crime appears a lot where there is no state, which makes it even more important for the government to act in these areas,” he said.

Alcadipani underlined that to fight this type of power it is necessary for the State to also fight corruption within its institutions, which favors the strengthening of organized crime: “We must remember that there is no organized crime without corruption of State agents.”

In addition to the murder of the entrepreneur, the app driver Celso Araújo Sampaio de Novais, 41 years old, also died on Saturday 9th, shot in the back with a rifle during the attack that killed Gritzbach. Celso was on duty when he was hit and leaves behind three children and his wife, to whom he had been married for more than 20 years.

“In cases like this we see the power of crime, and how an action like this cannot be controlled”, underlines Alcadipani. “If you start firing rifle shots in an environment like Guarulhos airport, you will completely lose control of it.” For the expert, this is a “bad signal” and reveals the danger that organized crime represents for the population.

The whistleblower exposed police corruption

In addition to detailing the CCP’s activities, Gritzbach’s plea agreement also raises corruption allegations involving civilian police officers in São Paulo. The entrepreneur mentioned in his testimony the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP), the State Department for Criminal Investigations (DEIC), as well as the 24th DP (Ermelino Matarazzo) and the 30th DP (Tatuapé).

This is reported in the document, the contents of which were revealed by the newspaper State of S. Paolo This Tuesday the 12th, the crimes charged to the agents are extortion (extortion carried out by public employees), passive corruption and criminal association.

After Gritzbach’s death, military police officers were removed from the 18th Battalion of the Metropolitan Military Police (BPM-M), in the North Zone of São Paulo, and from the 23rd BPM-M, in the West Zone of the capital.

According to the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP), these prime ministers were already under investigation, a month before the crime, on charges of having provided private security to Vinícius. This type of extra service, called ‘extra’, is considered irregular if carried out without the authority’s authorization. The SSP also repudiated the officers’ role as an escort for an accused involved in the CCP.

And how does corruption in institutions strengthen the CCP?

Regarding the fight against the CCP, Alcadipani criticized the lack of coordination between the state and federal spheres. “The CCP’s control has been lost, but we need coordinated efforts,” he noted. “If the federal government and the state governments could speak the same language and try to conduct coordinated action, that would be a great help. But unfortunately that’s not what we see.”

For him, the fight against organized crime in Brazil requires coordinated actions and a sustained and effective combat strategy. Alcadipani also underlined the need to eliminate security and justice institutions.

“We must consider that there are parts of the state that are compromised. We must carry out an internal purification of state institutions”, said the professor, comparing the Brazilian scenario to that of the Italian mafias and the United States, where historically, organized crime thrived in the midst of corruption.

CCP informant and suspect in the murder of a drug dealer: who was Vinícius Gritzbach:

He underlined that corruption among state agents in Brazil already reaches the highest levels, as demonstrated by the recent operation of the Federal Police, in which judges of the Court of Justice of Mato Grosso do Sul are investigated on charges of having participated in a program for selling court decisions. Following the investigations, some of these magistrates were even forced to wear electronic ankle bracelets.

While confident in the investigative capacity of the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP) in solving the attack against Gritzbach, Alcadipani stressed that the fight against organized crime requires coordination between security forces that goes beyond the resolution of a single case. “It is possible to identify those responsible, but it is not just about focusing on this crime; Coordinated action is needed to combat it,” he said.

Addressing the possibility of retaliation in response to state actions, the expert highlighted the importance of well-coordinated action, stressing that the fight against organized crime should not be weakened for fear of retaliation. “It is very important that when the police act, they act in an organised, coordinated and planned way, to keep the loss of life to the minimum possible. And it is necessary to carefully consider whether the action is worth pursuing.”

Alcadipani also said that the episode demonstrates how critical the organized crime situation is in São Paulo. “What this episode shows is that the organized crime situation in São Paulo is not under the control that the state wants to make it seem. The situation is very serious. Organized crime is very bold, it has a lot of strength, and this calls for the focus on the urgent need for a more rigorous approach in the fight against this phenomenon”, he underlined.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.