The use of electromagnetic signal interceptors by criminals has long been reported in Brazil, but it is only now, after Operation Omerta, that security forces in Mato Grosso do Sul have the first two types of equipment. The devices, also known as jammers, have been in the possession of the Bope(Special Operations Battalion) based at the Grand Camp since January 14 and will remain in the unit at least until the end of the process of cracking down on criminal organizations involved with them. According to the investigation, the group was led by businessmen Jamil Name and Jamil Name Filho, who were arrested on 27 September. At the end of the operation, the destination of the input material is defined based on the result.
The commanders of the BOPE requested the retention of the material, which was illegally used by bank robbers, ATM fraudsters, car thieves and, for those involved in criminal syndicates targeting d 'Omerta, by members of disgruntled execution groups illegally using family names, as the investigative work showed.
One of the records is that Jose Moreira Freires, Zezinho, a former city guard appointed as an assassin for the death squad, used one of these devices during the execution. According to police work, he did so in order to cancel the signal of an electronic ankle bracelet he was wearing after retired police chief Paulo Magalhaes was convicted of murder in 2012.
Having just received the signal jammers, the battalion will now have a better understanding of what they have at hand, Roberson de Oliveira Souza, deputy chief of the gendarmerie Camp Police station, informed. "We will now move into the testing phase to look at the features and then define their usage issues," he explained. Initially, it was necessary to provide a charger for one of the technical instruments.
The capability the military is talking about is the jammer's "action" radius, the physical space where it eliminates or mixes electromagnetic signals, including those from cellphones, sirens, anklets or RF devices or even GPS. Some products are capable of zeroing out waves up to a hundred square meters, information available when searching the Internet is displayed.
Banned by Anatel(National Telecommunications Authority), interceptors found in online stores, in some cases warning that "the responsibility lies with the buyer."
The agency is only allowed to use it in prisons to prevent cell phone and radio communications. Among other things, it is considered a clandestine telecommunications activity. In other words, the number of offences punishable by two to four years in prison will increase by half if harm is caused to a third party. The same penalty applies to anyone who is directly or indirectly involved in the crime.
Forever - In the police, the aim is to use what was previously run by bandits to fight and suppress illegal activities. One of the situations discussed in the report is when it is necessary to interrupt a criminal's communications, such as during riots and hostage-taking incidents. Bope was also involved in bank robberies.
Bope's negotiator in crisis management situations, Warrant Officer Roberson, is very cautious in discussing law enforcement possibilities because it is a crime-fighting strategy. But he cited the importance of the court granting permission to use it. "It will make a big difference," he concluded.
"First, it provides greater security in addressing events that are typical of our nature. In a secondary matter, it is a device used by some criminals for a specific purpose, "he said. "For us, it ends up being a technology where we can research and even get technology to deal with these criminals," he said.
Memorial - The interceptor, now handed over to the gendarmerie's Special operations unit, was seized on May 19, 2019, following the arrest of former municipal guard Marcelo Rios, who today is serving his sentence in a federal security prison. Maximum capital. Rios was caught by police from the Garras(specialized police station for combating bank robberies, assaults and kidnappings), who were armed with heavy weapons and led officers to a house where they found other large-caliber weapons, in addition to electromagnetic signal blockers and even electronic wiring harnesses, which were used as torture tools.
