RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian police say they are seeking the arrest of more than 400 people with alleged links to criminal gangs, in a major nationwide operation involving more than 1,000 officers.

Those arrested will be charged with money laundering, drug trafficking and directing criminal organisations from within prisons, the federal police said.

Local media reported that the main target of the crackdown is Brazil’s so-called First Capital Command gang, the country’s largest and most powerful, known by its Portuguese acronym PCC.

According to the police, 422 arrest warrants and 201 search and seizure warrants were issued across 19 states and the Federal District, and up to 252 million reais ($US46 million) of assets held by those targeted were frozen.

Charges of belonging to a criminal organization, drug trafficking and money laundering carry a combined sentence of up to 28 years in prison.

Brazil, long-regarded as a cocaine-consuming nation, has become one of the top suppliers to Europe in recent years, transforming the country’s role, and that of its major gangs, in the trans-Atlantic drug trade.

Reuters