Maputo. Brazilian prosecutor defends international partnerships

O brazilian prosecutor Lincoln Gakiya today defended, in Maputo, the creation of permanent joint research teams between countries to strengthen the fight against international drug trafficking, considering insufficient punctual cooperation actions.

“ We would need to develop joint teams from Mozambique with Brazil, joint teams from South Africa with Brazil, from European countries with Brazil, so that we can establish investigations that originate in Brazil and South America and the counterpart in Europe and Africa,” he said.

Lincoln Gakiya spoke at the National Conference on Drug Prevention and Combating, which brings together experts from Mozambique, Brazil and Portugal, under the motto “Prevention and Combating Drugs: New Trends, Their Challenges and Innovative Answers”.

According to the prosecutor and member of the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco) of the Public Ministry of the State of São Paulo, widely known for investigations and for facing the criminal faction First Command of the Brazilian Capital (PCC), the objective of these joint teams would be to identify the entire chain of trafficking, from the origin to the final recipients of the drug.

“ And this cannot be done with teams that are not permanent. The punctual interventions are good, but they start, half and end ", sustained.

The expert explained that transnational organized crime has a high capacity to articulate and create business networks covering the entire drug distribution chain, from producers to transit countries to consumer markets.

“ The creation of joint research teams is the only instrument today that will lead to progress in this cooperation, because most countries already have international cooperation. We already have agreements, the formality is already set, we need to make it work”, he added.

Gakiya also justified the need to deepen international cooperation with the growing use of technologies by criminal networks, also alerting the role of prisons in coordinating the activities of drug trafficking-related groups.

Also today, the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Mozambique, António de Vivo, argued that the review of anti-drug legislation should be a priority for Mozambican authorities, with a view to strengthening international cooperation and the ability to intercept suspicious shipments.

In turn, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo defended a change in strategy in the fight against drug trafficking, focusing on the identification of funders, the fight against money laundering and the recovery of goods from criminal activity.

According to the Head of State, the mere seizure of drugs is insufficient to dismantle criminal organizations, and the fight must focus increasingly on identifying their financial and heritage structures.

Daniel Chapo added that asset recovery should be one of the main instruments of the national strategy to combat organized crime.