PCC whistleblower executed at Guarulhos Airport carried R$1 million in jewelry

Businessman Antônio Vinícius Lopes Gritzbach, aged 38, was shot dead at São Paulo International Airport, in Guarulhos, last Friday (8). A whistleblower for the First Command of the Capital (PCC), Gritzbach carried jewelry valued at more than R$1 million in his luggage, including rings, necklaces and bracelets from luxury brands such as Bulgari, Vivara and Cartier. In addition to the jewelry, R$620 in cash, a Rolex watch, a cell phone and a notebook were found. The material was seized and is in the custody of the State Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP).

According to preliminary information, Gritzbach traveled to Maceió to collect a debt and received the jewelry as payment. His girlfriend, who accompanied him on the trip, handed the jewelry over to the police and reported that he had received death threats. In collaboration with the Public Ministry of São Paulo (MP-SP), Gritzbach had denounced alleged corruption schemes involving police officers and provided details about the PCC’s financial operations. He also recorded an audio in which two individuals discuss the payment of R$3 million for his execution, evidence that was shared with Gaeco (Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime).

At the time of the murder, Gritzbach was disembarking at the airport’s Terminal 2 when he was shot by ten shots fired by two men who got out of a black vehicle. Military police officers were escorting the businessman, but none of them were present at the scene due to alleged technical problems in the vehicles. Investigators suspect intentional failure, and this hypothesis is one of the DHPP’s lines of investigation. After the attack, the suspects abandoned the vehicle used in the action, in which two weapons were found — a rifle and a pistol — awaiting expert confirmation on their use in the crime.

*Report produced with the help of AI