Intercepts Tie ‘Rainha do Sul’ Lawyer to BDM Command Channel and Money Network

Overview

• Police accuse attorney Poliane França Gomes of acting as an external coordinator for Bonde do Maluco, transmitting orders and threats while identifying herself to members as “RS” or “Rainha do Sul.”
• Intercepted audio and texts obtained by the investigation include her warning that “whoever does not pay will pay with life” and threatening to “start killing” to enforce collections.
• As part of Operation Rainha do Sul around Nov. 27, authorities executed 14 arrest warrants and 25 searches across Bahia, Pernambuco, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Paraná.
• Investigators seized about R$1 million in jewelry, a money‑counting machine and R$190,000 in cash, and sought freezes on 26 bank accounts with potential seizures above R$100 million while probing a horse farm in Pernambuco for laundering.
• Police say Gomes formalized a union with imprisoned leader Leandro da Conceição Santos Fonseca and used expanded 2025 prison visits after his 2024 transfer to a stricter regime to relay orders, while defenses for both deny the accusations.