The sentencing court trying former minister Arnaldo Giuzzio for aggravated passive bribery has received the extracted contents of the cellphone of Brazilian drug trafficker Lindomar Reges Furtado, sentenced to 37 years in prison for international drug trafficking. The information was sent by Brazilian authorities and will now undergo expert analysis and translation before being incorporated into the case.
The court is presided over by Judge Adriana Planás and includes Judges Yolanda Morel and Mathías Garcete. The expectation is that, after translation, the conversations will be presented during the ongoing trial if they reveal links between Giuzzio and Reges Furtado.
Meanwhile, the oral and public trial against Giuzzio continues this Thursday. The former minister is accused of maintaining close contact with Marcus Vinicius Espíndola Marqués de Pauda, a target of Operation Turf and detained in Brazil for money laundering, drug trafficking, and asset trafficking. According to the investigation, between July 2021 and February 2022, Giuzzio, then Interior Minister, communicated regularly with Vinicius via WhatsApp and met with him in person at the premises of FOPE (Special Operations Force) and at the companies Black Eagle Grupo SA and Ombu SA, which are dedicated to vehicle armor and security.
The prosecutors argue that Vinicius sought to become a state supplier, offering bulletproof vests and armored vehicles. The first “gifts” accepted by Giuzzio are said to have been the armor of a police vehicle as a “courtesy” and the free loan of an armored pickup truck for personal use during a family vacation in Brazil.
The WhatsApp conversations show that in October 2021, Vinicius sent Giuzzio links and screenshots about Operation Car Wash and a raid on the home of Antonio Joaquim Da Mota, to which Giuzzio replied “Thank you, Marcus.” In the same month, Vinicius allegedly carried out the armor and repair of a police pickup truck. In November, he mentioned having samples for ballistic tests of vests. In December, he offered Giuzzio the engine replacement of a FOPE vehicle and another vehicle as a “courtesy.” In December 2022, Vinicius said he had one of the armored vehicles ready; Giuzzio asked if the repair would be expensive and, upon hearing it would be a “courtesy,” replied “Excellent” and asked for photos.
The prosecutors consider that there is reasonable suspicion that Vinicius not only provided repair and armor services to vehicles of the Ministry of Interior and the Police but also negotiated with Giuzzio the supply of materials for these institutions.