The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro broke up today (8) a clandestine cigarette factory in Campos Elísios, in the city of Duque de Caxias, in the Baixada Fluminense region, with 23 Paraguayans working in a regime analogous to slavery. Most of the workers had already been in Rio for three months and had not received any payment for the service. All workers were released. They will spend the night in a hotel and after legal procedures they will return to their country of origin.
The action was carried out by the General Department for Combating Corruption, Organized Crime and Money Laundering, together with the Delegated Services Defense Department and the Special Resources Coordination (Core).
In a statement, the Civil Police reported that the expertise was carried out on the spot and the equipment and machinery seized, in addition to the raw material and cigarette packs produced in the clandestine factory. The Federal Police and the Public Ministry of Labor were called and are working in partnership with the Civil Police.
This is the first time that Rio has opened a clandestine factory for the Paraguayan Gift brand cigarettes. This cigarette is sold in Brazil, with a price well below national brands. The packet leaves Paraguay for R$0.40 to be sold at R$3 to the consumer. The price of Brazilian cigarettes is, on average, R$8.
