Copacabana Officers Seize 29 Phones From Pregnant Suspect After Signs of Mass Theft

Overview

• Agents intervened around 3 a.m. on Avenida Atlântica after noticing the start of an arrastão, or mass theft, in the New Year crowds.
• The haul included 29 cellphones, a professional camera and a wallet hidden in three bags with false bottoms and wrapped in aluminum foil, which officials said may have been intended to block device signals.
• CATI teams took the suspect to the Delegacia Especial de Atendimento ao Turista along with five alleged victims who are Polish and Peruvian tourists.
• The seizure occurred within Seop’s Operation Tatuí, which reported about 120 vehicles towed from Dec. 30 to Jan. 1 and roughly 1,550 traffic fines on Dec. 31, plus large confiscations of glass bottles, ice and fruit and the removal of illegal stalls and structures.
• Seop said three people in total were taken to police stations during the operation, and no confirmation was available on whether the woman remained detained.