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RIO DE JANEIRO<\/a>: As Rio<\/a> de Janeiro residents sheltered at home last year during the deadliest phase of Brazil's COVID-19 outbreak, police detective Gabriel Ferrando<\/a> said he got a tip that something suspicious was upending local internet service<\/a>.
Access had vanished across broad swaths of Morro da Formiga, or Ant Hill, a tough neighborhood on the city's north side. When Ferrando<\/a> quizzed a technician from broadband provider TIM<\/a> SA tasked with fixing the outage, the worker, whom he declined to name, said armed men had chased him away with a warning not to return.
Turns out a new internet provider<\/a> had claimed this turf: a company whose investors at one time included an accused drug and arms trafficker with alleged ties to Brazil's notorious Red Command crime syndicate, according to Ferrando, court documents filed by authorities and business registration records viewed by Reuters. Using stolen equipment, some of it pilfered from TIM, the newcomers soon had their own internet service<\/a> up and running, Ferrando said. Residents could sign up with the new firm, he said - or do without.
TIM, a unit of Telecom Italia SpA, declined to comment, referring all inquiries to Brazil's telecom industry<\/a> association Conexis. In a statement, the group called on the nation's law enforcement to act to protect legitimate operators.
Ferrando, a veteran of Rio's top organized crime unit, is trying to do just that. In a sealed report documenting months of investigation, he asked Rio state prosecutors in February to pursue charges against the purported pirates. The prosecutors' office did not respond to a request for comment. No charges have been filed.
Morro da Formiga isn't the only community reporting troubles. Reuters interviewed nearly two dozen telecom industry executives, law enforcement officials, technicians, academics and internet<\/a> customers in Brazil, and reviewed thousands of pages of court filings submitted by police.
The people and documents described an audacious takeover of internet<\/a> service in dozens of neighborhoods in Brazil's major cities by companies associated with alleged criminals unafraid to use force and intimidation to push out rivals. The result, these sources said, is that tens of thousands of Brazilians now depend on unreliable, second-rate broadband networks estimated by industry and law enforcement officials to be generating millions of dollars annually for purported crooks.
Bootleg providers can be unresponsive when service crashes and impatient when a bill is missed, some customers told Reuters. In Rio's working-class Campo Grande neighborhood, a resident described how someone knocks on his door monthly to collect 35 reais ($6.80) - in cash.
There's \"pressure to pay on the day that they choose with no delay,\" said the customer, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
It's a reliable revenue stream made all the more lucrative by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced families online for school, work and shopping. In 2020 alone, the proportion of Brazilian households with an internet connection grew by more than 12 percentage points to 83%, according to the most recent data available from Cetic.br, an information technology organization.
Pirates are plundering equipment and infrastructure, too, much of it re-purposed for their makeshift networks, authorities and telecom executives said. Theft and destruction of telecommunications gear rose 34% in 2020 from 2019, representing about 1 billion reais ($194 million) in direct annual losses, according to Feninfra, an industry group whose members include installers and repair workers. It said that figure rose another 16% in the first half of 2021.
THE ALLEGED SCHEME
<\/strong>
Brazil's telecom industry<\/a> is not alone in its struggles. Crime groups for years have controlled distribution of cooking gas, jugs of drinking water and other basics in many low-income urban neighborhoods.
But by building their own broadband networks, Brazil's criminals are raising their sophistication, according to more than 20 technicians, industry representatives and law enforcement officials interviewed by Reuters. They said the scheme typically works like this:
First, thieves steal or vandalize equipment belonging to traditional broadband operators. When repair teams arrive, they are menaced by armed men who warn them not to come back. Last year in Rio alone, no-go zones rose to 105 locations for Oi SA , one of Brazil's largest internet providers. That figure has quadrupled since 2019, according to data supplied by the company.
Shortly after service is interrupted, telecom companies associated with organized crime groups set up their own networks, piggybacking on existing infrastructure. In some cases, these outfits are run directly by members of drug trafficking gangs including the Red Command or the Pure Third Command, one of its main rivals. Others are run by militias - a type of criminal outfit composed of retired and off-duty cops. In other cases, they are operated by businessmen who pay kickbacks to gangsters to clear out the competition.
Often the interlopers receive help from crooked employees of major providers who sell them expertise and pilfered gear, according to Rio state prosecutor Antonio Pessanha. He told Reuters he's investigating criminal activity in the telecom sector in and around Rio city, the state's capital.
In one recent case, an employee of Claro, the local unit of Mexico's America Movil SAB de CV, offered to sell company equipment to organized crime associates, according to a recorded phone call that Pessanha said his office obtained through a court-approved wiretap. He did not specify what criminal organization the people in the call were allegedly affiliated with, nor did he identify the Claro employee or the other participants. The investigation is ongoing, and Reuters was not provided access to the recording.
Claro declined to comment on the alleged incident.
NEW PLAYER IN ANT HILL<\/strong>
In Morro da Formiga, detective Ferrando said he began receiving anonymous tips from some of its roughly 5,000 residents in the first half of 2021 who said broadband services provided by major operators had stopped working.
One company dominates there now, Ferrando said, a firm named JPConnect Servicos de Telecomunicacoes. It was established in 2019, according to corporate registration documents filed with the Rio government and seen by Reuters.
Those records show that until late last year JPConnect was part-owned by an individual named Paulo Cesar Souza dos Santos Jr., whom authorities allege is a member of Comando Vermelho, or Red Command, Rio's largest organized criminal group. In 2011, Rio state prosecutors indicted dos Santos for drug and weapons trafficking, according to court records viewed by Reuters. He was later acquitted.
Dos Santos transferred his 50% stake in JPConnect in September 2021 to another investor, Alexandre Rodrigues de Almeida, according to the registration documents.
In January, police officers searched JPConnect's headquarters in Morro da Formiga, according to Ferrando. He said the cops found equipment belonging to TIM, Oi, Claro and Telefonica Brasil<\/a> SA, the local unit of Spain's Telefonica SA. All of those companies declined to comment on Ferrando's allegations.
The JPConnect investigation hasn't been previously reported. Authorities haven't filed charges in the case. Reuters could not reach officials at JPConnect. The company's registered telephone number is not functioning.
Dos Santos and Almeida declined to comment through their lawyer. Their attorney, Eberthe Vieira de Souza Gomes, said JPConnect operates legally and had gained market share by offering a quality product. He said dos Santos has no connection to any criminal organization, pointing out that his client was acquitted of all charges related to his 2011 indictment. Reuters confirmed dos Santos' acquittal via Rio state court documents. Those documents did not specify the year of his acquittal.
TIM, Oi, Claro and Telefonica Brasil<\/a> referred questions to Conexis, the telecom trade association. In an interview, Marcos Ferrari, the group's president, described a litany of woes facing Brazil's industry generally, including vandalism, theft, threats to employees and hijacking of service areas by players with suspected ties to the underworld.
Authorities must \"inhibit this type of criminal action,\" Ferrari said.
In greater Rio there are several other broadband operators under investigation for allegedly rough tactics and links to purported criminals, authorities said.
Among them is Net&Com, which made headlines in March 2021 when Rio police raided its downtown headquarters as part of a broader probe into an alleged drug ring. Police have publicly stated that they are investigating the firm for allegedly paying criminals associated with the Red Command to help them take over the telecoms market in poor neighborhoods throughout metropolitan Rio.
More than three dozen people, including purported members of the Red Command, last year were charged with drug and weapons trafficking and conspiracy, according to court documents filed by Rio prosecutors and viewed by Reuters. They are currently on trial and have maintained their innocence.
In documents laying out the government's case, authorities alleged the ring also profited by accepting kickbacks from Net&Com to chase telecom competitors out of neighborhoods where the company now operates. Net&Com and its executives have not been charged.
Pedro Santiago, a lawyer for Net&Com, said the company was an upstanding operator that had been the \"victim of a witch hunt.\" Santiago said he had reviewed many hours of police wiretaps and that these showed no link between the firm and any criminal elements.
Police dispute that characterization in court documents seen by Reuters, citing as evidence allegedly stolen equipment and conversations among co-conspirators mentioning the alleged role of Net&Com.
Pessanha, the Rio state prosecutor, said the investigation continues.
\"The new gold for the criminal underworld,\" he said, \"is the internet.\"
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在巴西,你的互联网服务提供商可能是一个暴徒,警察说
访问在广泛范围的小丘da Formiga已经消失了,或Ant山,艰难的社区在城市的北边。当Ferrando询问技术人员从宽带提供商蒂姆SA负责修复故障,工人,他拒绝透露说,武装人员追了一个警告不要回报。
读到
里约热内卢:力拓里约热内卢居民安置在家里去年在巴西COVID-19爆发的最严重阶段,警方侦探加布里埃尔Ferrando说他有一个提示,怀疑是颠覆当地的互联网服务。
访问在广泛范围的小丘da Formiga已经消失了,或Ant山,艰难的社区在城市的北边。当Ferrando从宽带供应商询问技术人员蒂姆SA负责修复故障,工人,他拒绝透露说,武装人员追了一个警告不要回报。
发现一个新互联网服务提供商声称这地盘:一次公司的投资者包括一个被毒品和军火贩子与巴西关系所谓臭名昭著的红色命令犯罪集团,根据Ferrando,提交的法庭文件被路透社当局和商业登记记录。使用偷来的设备,它从蒂姆偷窃,新来者很快有自己的互联网服务启动并运行,Ferrando说。居民可以注册新公司,他说——或者没有。
蒂姆,意大利电信的SpA、拒绝置评,所有调查巴西的电信行业协会Conexis。在一份声明中,该组织呼吁国家的执法行动来保护合法的运营商。
资深里约热内卢顶级Ferrando有组织犯罪单位,试图做到这一点。在一个密封的报告中记录了几个月的调查,他问里约州检察官2月份起诉海盗的本意。检察官办公室没有回应记者的置评请求。目前还没有提起指控。
小丘da Formiga并不是唯一的社区报告问题。路透社采访了近24个电信行业高管、执法人员、技术人员、学者和互联网客户在巴西,并综述了数千页的法庭文件中提交的警察。
人民和文档描述了一个大胆的收购互联网在几十个社区服务公司在巴西的大城市与所谓的罪犯不惧指出使用武力和威胁的竞争对手。这些消息人士表示,结果是,成千上万的巴西人现在依赖不可靠的,二流的宽带网络产业和执法官员估计,为传说中的骗子生成每年数百万美元。
盗版提供者时可以响应服务崩溃和不耐烦错过一项法案时,一些客户告诉路透。在力拓的工薪阶层Campo Grande社区,居民描述了有人敲他的门每月收集35雷亚尔(合6.80美元)的现金。
“当天支付的压力,他们选择没有延迟,”顾客说,他要求匿名,因为害怕报复。
这是一个可靠的收入来源更加有利可图的由COVID-19大流行,迫使家庭网上学校、工作和购物。仅在2020年,巴西有一个互联网连接的家庭的比例增长了超过12个基点,至83%,根据最近的数据可以从Cetic。br,信息技术组织。
海盗们掠夺设备和基础设施,大部分妄的临时网络,当局和电信高管表示。盗窃和破坏通信设备从2020年的2019增长了34%,约占10亿雷亚尔(1.94亿美元)的年度损失,直接根据Feninfra,行业组织,其成员包括安装和维修工人。它表示这一数字在2021年上半年增长16%。
所谓的计划
巴西的电信行业不是唯一的斗争。犯罪集团多年来烹饪气体分布控制,壶的饮用水和其他基本在许多城市低收入社区。
但是通过构建自己的宽带网络,巴西的罪犯正在提高他们的复杂性,根据20多个技术人员、行业代表和执法官员接受路透社采访。他们说这个计划通常是这样运作的:
首先,小偷偷窃或肆意毁坏设备属于传统的宽带运营商。维修团队到达时,他们被武装威胁警告他们不要的男人回来。去年仅在里约热内卢,无人区Oi股价升至105个地点,巴西最大的互联网提供商之一。这一数字自2019年以来已经翻了两番,根据公司提供的数据。
服务中断后不久,电信公司与有组织犯罪有关组织建立自己的网络,利用现有的基础设施。在某些情况下,这些机构被贩毒团伙的成员包括直接运行红色命令或纯第三命令,其主要竞争对手之一。其他人则由民兵组织——一种退休和休假警察组成的犯罪组织。在其他情况下,它们是由商人支付回扣歹徒清除竞争。
经常闯入者得到帮助从弯曲的主要供应商卖给他们的员工专业知识和偷来的装备,根据里约州检察官安东尼奥Pessanha。他告诉路透调查犯罪活动在电信部门在里约热内卢城市及周边国家的资本。
克拉洛雪茄烟在最近的一个案例中,一个员工,墨西哥的墨西哥美洲电信公司的本地单位SAB de简历提供给销售公司设备有组织犯罪同伙,根据记录电话Pessanha说他的办公室通过法院也曾批准了窃听。他没有具体说明犯罪组织的人称之为据称隶属于,他也没有确定色味俱淡的员工或其他参与者。路透社的调查还在继续,没有提供访问记录。
克拉洛雪茄烟拒绝就事件发表评论。
蚂蚁山的新球员
侦探Ferrando在小丘da Formiga说,他开始收到一些匿名举报约5000居民在2021年上半年说宽带主要运营商提供的服务已经停止工作。
Ferrando说,一家公司在现在公司叫JPConnect Servicos de Telecomunicacoes。它成立于2019年,根据公司登记文件提交给里约热内卢政府和被路透社记者。
这些记录显示,直到去年年底JPConnect公司的部分股权由一位名叫保罗的个人塞萨尔Souza多斯桑托斯Jr .)谁当局声称属于第一Vermelho,或红色命令,力拓最大的有组织的犯罪集团。2011年,里约州检察官起诉多斯桑托斯毒品和武器走私,根据法庭记录被路透社记者。他后来被赦免了。
多斯桑托斯2021年9月他JPConnect 50%的股份转移到另一个投资者,亚历山大·罗德里格斯de Almeida根据登记文件。
今年1月,警方搜查了JPConnect小丘哒Formiga,总部根据Ferrando。他说警察发现设备属于蒂姆,Oi,色味俱淡的和西班牙电信巴西SA,当地的西班牙的Telefonica SA。所有的这些公司拒绝评论Ferrando的指控。
JPConnect调查没有先前报道。当局还没有提出指控。路透社无法达到JPConnect官员。公司注册的电话号码不是功能。
多斯桑托斯和阿尔梅达通过他们的律师拒绝置评。说,他们的律师,Eberthe Vieira de Souza戈麦斯JPConnect合法经营,通过提供一种高质量的产品赢得了市场份额。他说多斯桑托斯没有连接到任何犯罪组织,指出他的客户相关的所有指控被判无罪,他2011年的控诉。路透社证实通过里约州法庭文件多斯桑托斯的无罪释放。这些文件没有具体说明他的无罪释放。
蒂姆,Oi,色味俱淡的和西班牙电信巴西把问题推给Conexis,电信行业协会。在一次采访中,马科斯法拉利,该组织主席称巴西面临一连串的困境的行业一般来说,包括破坏、盗窃、威胁员工和服务领域的劫持球员疑似黑社会关系。
当局必须“抑制这种类型的刑事诉讼,”法拉利说。
大里约热内卢还有其他几种宽带运营商正在调查涉嫌粗糙的战术和链接到传说中的罪犯,当局说。
其中Net&Com,头条新闻在2021年3月在里约热内卢警方突袭了市中心的总部作为整体的一部分调查所谓的药物环。警方已经公开表示,他们正在调查该公司涉嫌支付罪犯与红色相关命令来帮助他们接管整个都市里约热内卢贫困社区的电信市场。
超过36人,其中包括所谓的红色命令,去年被指控犯有毒品和武器走私和阴谋,里约热内卢检察官提交的法庭文件显示,被路透社记者。他们正在受审,保持清白。
在文档列出了政府的情况下,当局涉嫌收受回扣的戒指也获利Net&Com追逐电信竞争对手公司现在运营的社区。Net&Com及其高管们并没有被指控。
佩德罗圣地亚哥Net&Com的律师表示,该公司是一个正直的运营商,是“政治迫害的受害者。”Santiago said he had reviewed many hours of police wiretaps and that these showed no link between the firm and any criminal elements.
警察争执,描述在法庭文件中被路透社报道,援引作为证据涉嫌偷来的设备和对话Net&Com同谋提到所谓的角色之一。
Pessanha里约州检察官说,调查仍在继续。
“黑社会的新的黄金,”他说,“互联网”。
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