The first lady of João Pessoa, Lauremília Lucena, was arrested today (28) by the Federal Police, for violent solicitation of voters and suspicion of involvement in a criminal organization, linked to the municipal elections.
The arrest takes place as part of the third phase of Operation Free Territory, which has the support of the Special Group Against Organized Crime (Gaeco). Lauremília is married to the mayor of João Pessoa, Cícero Lucena, a candidate for re-election.
Lauremília’s secretary, Tereza Cristina Barbosa Albuquerque, was also detained. In total, two search and seizure warrants and two arrest warrants were executed. The arrests take place after analyzing materials obtained in previous phases of Operation Free Territory.
Now the objective of the actions is to obtain evidence of materiality, authorship and detailing the crimes under investigation.
Defense
The first lady’s lawyers did not comment on the case until late this morning. Mayor Cícero Lucena’s office released a statement stating that “this is a political prison”.
“Lauremília has a fixed residence and would never refuse to give a statement or clarify any facts. There was a use of disproportionate force, as she was not even called to give a statement. Clearly, Cícero’s opponents are using all means to gain power at any cost, without respect for his family or the city of João Pessoa”, says the note
The PF announced that it will not provide clarifications through a press conference so as not to jeopardize the progress of the investigations. But he highlighted that the investigations carried out seek to preserve the integrity of the electoral process in the capital of Paraíba, with the aim of curbing illegal practices that compromise the fairness and transparency of the election.
On the 19th of this month, in the second phase of Operation Free Territory, the Federal Police had already issued four preventive arrest warrants and seven search and seizure warrants.
On that occasion, a councilor running for re-election, Raissa Lacerda, was detained in the São José neighborhood. This Thursday (26), Raissa, who was seeking her fifth term in the city council, announced her request to resign from her candidacy. He cited “personal issues” to justify his decision.
