By Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Yesterday, the Federal Police, assisted by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, set off Operation Archimedes to dismantle the corruption scheme responsible for illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest.
A former IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) superintendent was arrested during the operation.
Twenty-three arrest warrants, six temporary arrest warrants and 109 search and seizure orders were issued in the states of Amazonas, Acre, Paraná, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Rondônia, Roraima, São Paulo and in the Federal District.
In addition, the freezing of R$50 million (US$12.5 million) in accounts of companies being investigated and 18 other precautionary measures were authorized.
José Leland, former superintendent of the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), was arrested.
According to information from Rede Amazônica TV Network, he was the subject of the warrant for search and seizure and was detained carrying an illegal firearm during the search.
The Federal Police is working on two fronts of a criminal investigation, in two separate police inquiries: the first, on extraction, exploitation and illegal wood trade; the second, on corruption among state environmental agency officials, environmental engineers, holders of management plans and owners of logging companies.
The Police had already seized over 400 containers carrying approximately 8,000 m³ of logs with irregular documentation at the port of Manaus in December 2017.
Those under investigation answer for the crimes of fraudulent misrepresentation, forgery of documents concerned with the concession of sustainable forest management plans, extraction and illegal trading of wood, money laundering, corruption and promotion of a criminal organization.
Between August 2017 and July 2018, 3,050 square miles were deforested based on satellite monitoring – a 13.7 percent rise on the previous year and the most significant area of forest cleared since 2008.