Federal Court releases timber seized by Federal Police operation in Amazonas state

The federal judge of the state of Amazonas, Mara Elisa Andrade, ordered the release of part of the cargo seized by the Federal Police during Operation Handroanthus, the largest seizure of illegal timber in the country. With the decision, tons of logs, rafts, boats and machinery were returned to the Community Association of Gleba Cumurucuri, the target of the investigation.

According to the website G1, the magistrate said that the investigation is at an “incipient” stage, which would not justify the indefinite confiscation of the cargo, and pointed out that the Federal Police commited “ostensive persecutory and restrictive acts of rights and freedoms”. The operation already generated a crime notification against Environment Minister Ricardo Salles, filed by the then head of the Federal Police in the Amazon, Alexandre Saraiva, dismissed after accusing Salles of obstructing the work of the police and acting in favor of environmental criminals.