The highly structured gang has operated for decades, with some responsible for the mass hunting of wild animals while others transported them to urban centres for sale.
The operation, involving more than 1000 officers, targeted a gang trafficking animals, weapons, and ammunition. Photo / Pablo Porciuncula, AFP
One group specialised in primates, hunting, drugging and selling monkeys to other gang members.
“Animal trafficking is not just cruel – it’s a death sentence. Many animals die before even reaching the market, which shows the sheer brutality of this trade,” Bernardo Rossi, State Secretary of Environment and Sustainability, said in a statement.
The gang also traded weapons and ammunition, which were used to commit various other crimes, according to police official Felipe Curi.
Investigators identified some of the buyers of these wild animals, who fuel “the entire criminal chain”, said the police statement, without giving further details.
Wildlife trafficking is a major challenge in Brazil, with an estimated 38 million animals taken from the wild every year, according to the Brazilian NGO RENCTAS (National Network to Combat Wildlife Trafficking).
Ninety per cent of these animals die before reaching the final consumer.
-Agence France-Presse