A Joint action by the Civil and Military police removed more than 656 tons of drugs from the streets of the state of São Paulo between January 2023 and October this year. The volume seized represents a loss estimated at almost R$3 billion to organized crime.
According to the SSP (Public Security Secretariat), since 2023, 424 combined actions have been carried out between institutions, 161 of which this year alone.
During this period, the largest cocaine seizure ever recorded in the state was recorded. In December 2024, an action in Assis, in the interior of SP, in a single occurrence.
In February this year, police officers found more than nine tons of marihuana e skunk hidden in a load of corn, in Porangaba, also in the interior of the state. The drug was destined for the Port of Santos, one of the main points used by criminal organizations for sending drugs abroad.
The operations were important for expanding integration with investigative bodies, such as the Public Ministry and the Federal Police, intensified as a result of the measures to repress drug trafficking adopted to target broader structures of drug trafficking and organized crime.
Operation Hidden Carbon
Considered one of the most impactful operations, it was launched in August 2025 and targeted a criminal scheme linked to the fuel sector. Search and seizure warrants were executed against approximately 350 investigated in São Paulo and in seven other states.
The criminal scheme, in which the PCC participates, harmed not only consumers who fill up their vehicles, but “an entire economic chain”. The investigation points to a value of R$7.6 billion in tax evasion alone through the scheme.
The action started in São Paulo mobilized around 1,400 agents from the Civil and Military Police, Federal Police, Public Ministry of São Paulo through Gaeco, Federal Public Ministry and Federal Revenue. The State Treasury and Planning Secretariat acted directly on 50 targets, with 160 tax auditors responsible for the digital seizure of documents. The São Paulo Civil Police complied with 156 court orders.
Other notable actions
In addition to Carbono Oculto, Operation Fim da Linha, launched in April 2024, was responsible for dismantling organizations involved in laundering money from criminal factions through bus companies.
According to the MPSP, the call it targeted the companies Upbus and TW, which transported around 700,000 passengers daily in the capital of São Paulo. Both would be remunerated by the City Hall and would have received more than R$800 million from public coffers in 2023 alone.
In September this year, it arrested more than 20 suspects linked to a criminal organization specializing in theft and receiving cargo, with warrants served in at least 19 cities in the state.
The investigation coordinated by the Federal Police Station in Campinas began in May 2024 and identified an armed gang, whose members specialized in stealing trucks, as well as dismantling vehicles and selling parts, in addition to money laundering. The criminal organization is related to at least 50 property crimes between August 2024 and June 2025.
*Under the supervision of Carolina Figueiredo
