Brazilian police bust cocaine traffickers in crypto-linked transnational probe

The Brazilian Federal Police last week busted an alleged international drug cartel thought to have trafficked around 6.5 metric tons of cocaine and laundered billions of reais in proceeds via methods that included crypto-enabled illicit money brokers.

According to a Thursday announcement, federal and state law enforcement arrested nine people and executed 13 pretrial detention warrants and 44 search-and-seizure warrants across São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina and Espírito Santo. The police also obtained court orders to freeze up to 1 billion reais ($197 million) in assets during the investigation.

The organization is suspected of moving billions in Brazilian reais through various asset-concealment methods, including shell companies, crypto-enabled illicit money brokers, luxury assets and real estate. The suspects will face charges including participation in a transnational criminal organization, international drug trafficking and money laundering.

The report follows the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioning six Ethereum addresses tied to a Sinaloa Cartel-linked money laundering network that allegedly converted drug proceeds into cryptocurrency in May.