On 8 and 9 July 2026, law enforcement agencies in Brazil and Indonesia executed a series of coordinated operations that disrupted major drug trafficking networks. In Brazil, a multi-agency task force served 70 warrants—27 for preventive detention and 43 for search and seizure—targeting a cell of the Comando Vermelho faction in the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. Separately, military and civil police in Minas Gerais seized over nine tonnes of marijuana, more than 30 kg of cocaine, hundreds of ecstasy tablets, and a cache of firearms including a homemade submachine gun. In Indonesia’s Riau province, police in Bengkalis arrested three men and confiscated 8 kg of crystal methamphetamine and 5,000 ecstasy pills hidden in a vehicle.

According to Minas Gerais state prosecutors, the Comando Vermelho group under investigation is suspected of drug trafficking, homicide, and imposing a regime of violence in communities it controls, including torture, beatings, and threats against residents. Authorities also stated that the group had monitored public security agents and planned an attack on a police officer. The operation, named Quione after the Greek goddess of snow, was intended to “freeze” the group’s activities. In Indonesia, Bengkalis police chief AKP Tidar Laksono said the arrests followed a public tip about suspicious transactions, and that the three suspects tested negative for methamphetamine, indicating their role as distributors rather than users.

The Brazilian operations exposed the group’s access to military-grade weaponry—four rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were recovered—and its cross-state logistical capacity. The discovery of four marijuana cultivation areas in Minas Gerais, along with a truckload of over three tonnes on a federal highway, points to a domestic production chain feeding local and possibly international markets. In Indonesia, the 8 kg of methamphetamine and ecstasy pills, seized near the Malacca Strait, highlight Riau’s role as a transit point for narcotics originating from the Golden Triangle or the Middle East, according to regional security analysts.

Viewed from Brasília, the raids form part of an intensifying campaign against organised crime that has yielded record drug hauls in 2026. The Comando Vermelho, which emerged in Rio de Janeiro’s prisons, has expanded its territorial control and drug trafficking operations across Brazil and into neighbouring countries, according to Brazilian intelligence assessments. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia remains a high-priority market for methamphetamine, with strict anti-narcotics laws that prescribe life imprisonment or the death penalty for traffickers. Police in both countries have called for increased community vigilance and reporting of suspicious activity.

The suspects in Brazil and Indonesia face charges under national narcotics laws. Brazilian prosecutors said investigations will continue to identify additional members of the network and any links to the planned attack on a police officer. In Bengkalis, the three men remain in custody for further questioning. No court dates have been announced.