Director-General Andrei Rodrigues says probe entered phase of interagency cooperation with state forensic units
10/09/2025
The director-general of Brazil’s Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, said on Wednesday (8) that the ongoing investigation into the contamination of alcoholic beverages with methanol may be connected to a major fuel fraud uncovered recently by the Federal Police.
“There is a possible connection with the previous operation on fuel adulteration, especially since the methanol’s port of entry was Paranaguá. It probably involved some criminal organization,” Mr. Rodrigues told reporters at the Ministry of Justice and Public Security headquarters.
He added that the investigation is now in a “phase of cooperation,” particularly in the forensic area, through a national integrated system that brings together Federal Police experts and state forensic police.
“We are combining efforts to gain access to materials seized by other police agencies, as well as to our own seizures, so that everything can be sent for forensic analysis,” he explained.
On September 29, the Federal Police started investigating a series of methanol poisoning cases in São Paulo. The move followed suspicions that the incidents could be linked to organized crime groups and to the recent fuel fraud probes.
The investigation was launched at the request of Justice and Public Security Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, who said Tuesday (7) that the Federal Police joined the case because authorities cannot rule out the possibility that the contamination represents a “national problem.”
According to the minister, the suspected criminal involvement may not necessarily involve the country’s well-known prison factions, but rather an organization operating specifically in the illicit alcohol production and beverage falsification trades.
*By Maira Escardovelli — Brasília
Source: Valor International
https://valorinternational.globo.com/