The Federal Police launched Operation Ópla today (20). It is to investigate the practice of fraud crimes in the purchase and registration of weapons in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The agents are also investigating the illegal trade in firearms.
About 60 federal police officers are on the streets to fulfill 12 search and seizure warrants in the cities of Cabo Frio, Arraial do Cabo and Rio das Ostras, in the Lagos Region. The warrants were issued by the 5th Federal Criminal Court of Rio de Janeiro.
The investigations began in 2020 when “inconsistencies were identified in requirements for the acquisition and registration of firearms within the scope of the Federal Police Station in Macaé/RJ”, explained the PF.
Fraudulent purchase
After extensive investigative work, agents concluded that a dispatcher had gathered oranges for the fraudulent acquisition of weapons. According to the investigations, each one received R$ 1 thousand to give the data. After this stage, with the firearm registration in possession, the dispatcher erased the number and diverted the weapons to organized crime in the Lagos Region.
According to the PF, the investigation will continue to “determine and identify the scope of the criminal organization, as well as the involvement of other people in the practice of crimes of misrepresentation and illegal firearms trade”.
The Federal Police reported that the word Ópla, which names the operation, means weapons in Greek.
