One sentence summary – Brazilian federal police have arrested two individuals suspected of smuggling illegally mined gold from Indigenous land to the U.S. and Europe, resulting in the seizure of gold bars worth over $1.18 billion and exposing a criminal organization involved in illegal mining activities.
At a glance
- Brazilian federal police arrest two individuals suspected of smuggling illegally mined gold from Indigenous land to the U.S. and Europe
- 16 search and seizure warrants executed across Brazil
- One of the arrested individuals is Brubeyk Nascimento
- Authorities targeted Austrian millionaire and naturalized Brazilian citizen Werner Rydl
- Law enforcement seizes gold bars worth over 5.7 billion reais ($1.18 billion) at Rydl’s premises
The details
Brazil’s federal police have arrested two individuals suspected of smuggling illegally mined gold from Indigenous land to the U.S. and Europe.
The operation involved the execution of 16 search and seizure warrants across Brazil.
One of the arrested individuals is identified as Brubeyk Nascimento.
The identity of the other person remains undisclosed.
Authorities targeted Werner Rydl, an Austrian millionaire and naturalized Brazilian citizen, during the operation.
Upon executing a search and seizure warrant at Rydl’s premises, law enforcement seized gold bars worth over 5.7 billion reais ($1.18 billion).
This significant seizure underscores the magnitude of the smuggling operation.
The investigation traces back to an initial seizure of 35 kilos of gold at the Manaus airport in January 2020.
At that time, three individuals, including Nascimento, were attempting to board a flight to New York with the gold concealed in a suitcase.
The other two individuals involved were identified as Frank Giannuzzi and Steven Bellino, both U.S. citizens.
Giannuzzi and Bellino are partners in a New York City-based firm called Doromet Inc, which had intentions to trade the gold.
To justify the origin of the gold, the three men claimed that it was from melted jewelry.
They presented false documents as evidence of this claim.
However, the police determined that the gold had originated from illegal mining in the Tapajos region of Para, northern Brazil, following a thorough analysis.
This discovery revealed the involvement of a criminal organization that obtained gold from Indigenous lands and riverbeds using dredges.
The organization would then falsely declare the gold as legally extracted through mining permits.
The scope of this operation highlights the extent of illegal mining activities in Brazil.
It also sheds light on the subsequent illicit trade of precious resources.
The arrest of the smuggling suspects and the seizure of a significant quantity of gold serve as a significant blow to the illegal mining industry in the country.
The exposure of the criminal organization behind this operation also contributes to this impact.
This information has been compiled from multiple sources and is presented in an unbiased manner.
It provides a comprehensive overview of the news story.
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Two figures handcuffed, surrounded by gold bars.
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| reuters.com |
|---|
| – Brazil’s federal police have arrested two individuals suspected of smuggling illegally mined gold from Indigenous land to the U.S. and Europe. – |
| The police conducted 16 search and seizure warrants across Brazil as part of the operation. – |
| One of the arrested individuals is Brubeyk Nascimento, while the other person remains unnamed. – Werner Rydl, an Austrian millionaire and naturalized Brazilian, was the target of a search and seizure, and authorities seized gold bars worth over 5.7 billion reais ($1.18 billion) from him. – |
| The operation began with the seizure of 35 kilos of gold at Manaus airport in January 2020. – Two New Yorkers, Frank Giannuzzi and Steven Bellino, along with Nascimento, were attempting to board a flight to New York with the gold in a suitcase. – |
| The U.S. citizens are partners in a New York City-based firm called Doromet Inc, which intended to trade the gold. – |
| The three men claimed that the gold was from melted jewelry and presented false documents to prove its origin. – However, the police’s analysis revealed that the gold originated from illegal mining in the Tapajos region of Para, northern Brazil. – |
| The investigation uncovered that the criminal organization acquired gold from Indigenous lands and riverbeds using dredges and falsely declared it as legally extracted through mining permits. |
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