Assault in Criciúma: PM Command sees ‘similarity in everything’ after analysis of attacks on banks in SP | St. Catarina

“The similarity occurred with the occurrence of Botucatu. There I contacted the commander and basically he told me, perhaps, the participation of some criminals, even with degrees, and the way they acted: they shot at the barracks, about forty men, for so the characteristics are similar to what we are facing here, ”said Pontes.

According to him, the explosive devices used in the criminal action in Criciúma are also similar to those used in Sorocaba, also in the interior of São Paulo.

“The similarity is in everything, including the explosive devices, it cannot be said that they are the same, but the similarity, in the way they were assembled, in relation to an event there in Sorocaba, not in Ourinhos, had an event in Sorocaba “We exchange information with their intelligence, the similarity is very close to what was used. So, these relationships exist”, explained the deputy commander of PM SC.

The Civil Police are investigating the possible relationship between the actions, but are in the information gathering stage for the investigations, which have “several lines of work and a series of steps being taken,” according to Police Chief Luis Felipe Fuentes, Director of the Board. State Criminal Investigations (Deic).

“We have no way of confirming if they are the same explosives used in Ourinhos, Botucatu and other cities in the interior of São Paulo, but we do not officially have them. […] Some issues have not been specifically addressed because there is a phase of gathering information, evidence, monitoring the expertise, ”he said.

There were hostages and shots between Monday night (30) and Tuesday morning (1). A military policeman was injured and had to undergo surgery. He remains in the ICU in serious condition and colleagues from the corporation have mobilized to donate blood.

Four men were arrested for theft of banknotes abandoned by criminals. No suspects in the gang had been arrested as of the publication of this report. The Rio Grande do Sul police are also assisting in the searches and inspection barriers have been installed on the roads.

The bank branch object of the robbery reopened on Wednesday (2). The place was left with gunshot marks on the windows and walls.

Until Wednesday afternoon, neither the Banco do Brasil nor the police confirmed the amount seized by the criminals and how much was left in the place, where the bank’s regional treasury is located.

Also according to the Deputy Prime Minister, the cars used in the assault are from other states. “The vehicles actually came from São Paulo [Estado]. There is even a vehicle that came from Bahia, passed through the interior of São Paulo and arrived here on the 28th and 29th of last month, ”said Marcelo Pontes, in an interview at the Encounter with Fátima Bernardes.

But according to Pontes, the vehicles should not be the same ones used in similar actions in the interior of São Paulo. “The vehicles are discarded, they are not the same. They came from São Paulo, but they are not related to the above,” he added.

According to the General Institute of Expertise, nine of the 10 vehicles are armored. They are being examined, after being found in a cornfield. Blood stains were found on two cars of these cars and therefore it is suspected that some of the criminals were injured and may have moved from one vehicle to another.

The Civil Police try to identify the specific origin of the vehicles. “They are usually of illicit origin, stolen, stolen,” said Chief Fuentes.

The Federal Highway Police (PRF) found that the burned truck on BR-10, used by criminals to block the Morro do Formigão tunnel in Tubarão, was stolen two years ago in Araraquara (SP). However, it had cloned plates and other identifying signs the same as those of another truck with the same characteristics, registered in Dumont (SP).

Possible relationship with aggression in Cameta (PA)

At dawn on Wednesday (2), a gang took to the streets of Cametá, in the interior of Pará, 235 km from Belém, to rob a bank. Neighbors reported a night of terror on social media. One person died.

The characteristics are similar to what happened in Criciúma, but according to delegate Luis Felipe Fuentes, director of the State Directorate of Criminal Investigations (Deic), it is not possible to confirm whether the assault in Cameta is related to the assault in Criciúma.

“It is very preliminary and there is no way to point out any circumstance that could say that the theft in Pará has to do with the situation in Criciúma,” he said.

Nor did he confirm the possible relationship between the assaults in the interior of São Paulo and in Criciúma.

The Civil Police investigation to date indicates that the action was carried out by criminals from other states, some of them for at least three months in the Criciúma region planning the assault.

Also according to the director of Deic a la G1, it is not possible, for now, to confirm that any criminal faction participated in the assault.

“In general, in these robberies the bank has experienced groups, people who have been in the criminal business for a long time and do not always join factions, they already have a certain independence. Due to the number of criminals, most likely people from several states in Brazil, that someone has a link with a faction, but that will only be confirmed afterwards, ”Fuentes said.

The investigation must take

According to the Civil Police, the end of the investigations into the attack in Criciúma, which may take time, is not expected. The police used as an example a robbery registered in March 2019 and which until then was considered the largest in the state, not everyone involved has yet been arrested.

“These are investigations that will require a long period of time to carry out, as well as verifying all the information we receive. And that takes time ”, said the general delegate of the Civil Police, Paulo Koerich.

According to the Deic delegate, Anselmo Cruz, responsible for the investigation, the criminal action was well planned “several months in advance.” “We have no doubt that the action that was well planned, the criminal action was done with a lot of planning, with a lot of preparation, for all these logistics,” he said.

A gang robbed a bank between the end of the night this Monday (30) and the early hours of this Tuesday (1) in Criciúma.

The heavily armed group invaded the regional treasury of a bank, set fire, blocked streets and entrances to the city, used hostages as shields and shot multiple times. A PM and a guard were injured. The Military Police believe that two criminals were also injured.

• About 30 hooded people robbed a branch of Banco do Brasil in the Criciúma Center at 11:50 pm on Monday (30). The action lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes.
• People were taken hostage and surrounded by criminals; there were blockages and barriers to prevent the police from arriving.
• A prime minister was injured, had to undergo surgery and remains hospitalized. No one died.
• The criminals fled and some of the money was scattered on the streets. The amount taken and abandoned has not yet been calculated.
• Four neighbors were arrested after collecting R $ 810 thousand that were left on the ground by an explosion during the assault.
• The criminals also left 30 kilograms of explosives. The police do not know the total used.
• In a cornfield on private property in Nova Veneza, northwest of Criciúma, 10 cars used in the robbery were seized. Nine of them were armored. According to the Institute of General Skills (IGP), the vehicles were painted black to camouflage themselves.
• The prime minister, based on bloodstains found on two cars, estimates that two criminals were injured
• In a statement, Banco do Brasil said that employees were not injured, that there is no provision for the agency to reopen and that it does not report “amounts subtracted during an attack on its facilities.”

Videos: gang robs bank and causes terror in Downtown Criciúma, SC