Police arrested the Brazilian leader of an international drug ring that smuggled cocaine into Europe in exchange for Ecstasy, authorities said Saturday.
Valdemar de Oliveira was taken into custody Friday night after police allegedly found nearly 20,000 tablets of the clubbing drug inside his apartment in Sao Vicente, a coastal city about 80km southeast of Sao Paulo, police said.
Police said the ring exchanged cocaine originated in South American countries, mainly Peru, with Ecstasy from the Netherlands and other European countries. The cocaine was smuggled into Europe as payment for the Ecstasy tablets, police said.
The ring was based in Brazil, but police said that at least 10 other people were believed to be involved in Peru and in Europe.
Police had been investigating the ring for the past six months, and Oliveira, whose age was not immediately available, was being closely monitored, authorities said.
Ten kilograms of cocaine hidden in surf boards and an undisclosed amount of euros and dollars were also found with the alleged trafficker, police spokesman Raimundo Cortizo Sobrinho said.
Police also arrested Rodrigo Riso Esperandgo, who was with Oliveira in the apartment and allegedly also belonged to the ring. They were charged with international drug trafficking and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
On Wednesday, a Brazilian couple who allegedly belonged to the same ring was arrested with more than 4,000 Ecstasy tablets at Sao Paulo's international airport while arriving on a flight from the Netherlands, police said.
Seizures of Ecstasy are common in the larger urban centers of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, where the use of the drug has risen in recent years.
Last month, federal police arrested a Brazilian man with 30,000 Ecstasy tablets in Rio de Janeiro.
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