The National Police of Paraguay arrested two Brazilian citizens suspected of belonging to the First Capital Command (PCC) criminal faction. The arrest occurred on the afternoon of August 18 on a public street in Ciudad del Este, following an operation by the 32nd Sub-Station of Puerto Itavera, in the Domingo Martínez de Irala district of Alto Paraná.
The men were circulating without identity documents. They initially identified themselves as Fernando Mello Pereiras and Samuel Barbosa da Silva. After verification with Brazilian authorities through the Tripartite Command (a police cooperation unit between Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina), it was discovered that one of them was using a false identity. The true identity of the individual posing as Fernando Mello Pereiras is Anderson Cleiton da Silva, who has an international arrest warrant issued by Brazil for drug trafficking. The other detainee, Samuel Barbosa da Silva, has no known criminal record but had several tattoos on his body, some characteristic of PCC members.
During the operation, two cell phones, 300,000 guaranis in cash, and two backpacks with clothes were seized. Police intelligence data indicate that the Brazilians had entered Paraguay from Argentina clandestinely and had been in the region for approximately 15 days. Authorities presume the duo's objective was to cross illegally into Argentine territory, crossing the Paraná River to avoid border controls.
Sub-Commissioner Fabio Santacruz, of the Tripartite Command Division, coordinated the data verification. Prosecutor Edgar Torres ordered that the detainees be transferred to the Police Directorate, where they remain at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor's Office. If they have not committed crimes on Paraguayan soil, the expectation is that they will be expelled and handed over to the Brazilian Federal Police in the coming hours. Argentine authorities were also notified to investigate the possible commission of crimes in that country.