Justice Ministry Secretary criticizes public disclosure of transfer of CV leaders

Seven leaders of the Red Command drug trafficking organization have been transferred to federal prisons. The National Secretary of Penal Policies of the Ministry of Justice, André Garcia, criticized on Wednesday (12) the disclosure by the Rio de Janeiro government of the operation to transfer leaders of the Red Command (CV) to federal prisons. Earlier on Wednesday, seven drug trafficking leaders from the CV began to be transferred to federal prisons. The criminals were in Bangu 1, Rio de Janeiro, and will be taken to different federal prison units. The destinations were not disclosed. Speaking to TV Globo, André Garcia said that operations like this should only be disclosed at the end of the transfer process to avoid rescue attempts and risks to the physical integrity of police officers. ‘We are carrying out this transfer. Unfortunately, this information came out from Rio de Janeiro, it was not supposed to be disclosed because it compromises the security of the event. Eventually, there could be an attempt to rescue,’ Garcia said. ‘In Rio de Janeiro, the state police provide the escort. Then, they hand over the prisoner to the Federal Prison Police, who wait at the airport. From then on, the responsibility lies with the Federal Prison Police. Therefore, this is a minimum security protocol procedure. This type of operation should only be disclosed at the end of the process. All states are aware of this,’ emphasized the secretary. The transferred individuals are from the faction’s leadership. According to the Rio government, the transferred prisoners are part of the faction’s leadership, and the prison changes are part of a strategy to weaken communication between leaders and other members of the criminal group. The transfer followed a request from the Ministry of Justice and the Rio State Prison Administration, which pointed out the risk of new attacks if the leaders remained in the state system. The transferred prisoners include Roberto de Souza Brito, known as Irmão Metralha – operates in Complexo do Alemão; Arnaldo da Silva Dias, known as Naldinho – operates in Resende and is the administrator of CV’s ‘caixinha;’ Alexander de Jesus Carlos, known as Choque or Coroa – a trafficker from Complexo do Alemão; Marco Antônio Pereira Firmino, known as My Thor – from Morro Santo Amaro and part of the faction’s committee; Fabrício de Melo de Jesus, known as Bicinho – from Volta Redonda and part of the faction’s committee; Carlos Vinícius Lírio da Silva, known as Cabeça – from the Sabão community in Niterói; Eliezer Miranda Joaquim, known as Criam – Leader in Baixada Fluminense.