A heavily armed gang, with about 30 members, tried, without success, to rob the safes of the valuables transport company Proforte on Sunday night (17), in the Paraná city of Guarapuava. Two policemen were shot. One of them, hit in the leg, is doing well. The other, shot in the face, is in a coma. A civilian was also shot, but not life-threatening.
“The focus of the action was Proforte, but luckily they were not successful,” informed the state’s Secretary of Public Security, Romulo Marinho Soares, referring to the premises of the cash-in-transit company where large amounts of cash are kept. .
According to the state security authorities, the bandits parked vehicles in front of the 16th Military Police Battalion, in an attempt to block the roads to make it difficult for vehicles to move to the place where the criminal action was being carried out.
According to the secretary, the action took place around 10 pm this Sunday. “They tried to block the exit of the battalion vehicles, but the personnel on the patrol noticed [a movimentação], which allowed us to put the contingency plan we have for this type of situation. We close entry and exit from the city. Therefore, [os bandidos] had to flee to the countryside,” said the secretary.
The mayor of Guarapuava, Celso Góes, informed that, thanks to the contingency plan, there was no confrontation inside the city, and that in the contact he had with the Ministry of Justice, he was informed of the release of federal police and federal highways in support of the searches.
During the escape, six vehicles and some weapons were abandoned. “We know that there are criminals injured because we have identified blood on these vehicles and on the streets. Our helicopters are now trying to locate them so we can capture them,” said the mayor.
According to the commander of the operation, Colonel Hudson, there are about 200 police officers supporting the actions, with reinforcements from the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police. “We contacted intelligence from other states that were victims of similar crimes, such as Santa Catarina,” he added.
The Secretary of Security criticized the dissemination of several false news that, according to him, would have been spread by social networks. These rumors would be hindering the investigations, in addition to harming the routine of the city.
Among the fake news, he mentioned that the bandits would have taken hostages during the action, and that they would have captured leaders of criminal groups who were in the local penitentiary. “None of that happened”, assured the secretary.
