Source: Fantástico, TV Globo, 5/6/2011

To see the video of the report click on the link: http://fantastico.globo.com/Jornalismo/FANT/0,,MUL1664033-15605,00.html

Fantástico shows how the fuel mafia attacked again, and this time the scheme is complete. It starts at the alcohol plant, passes through the distributor and ends up at the gas station. If your family car is choking, go to the mechanic right away, as you may have filled the tank with adulterated fuel.

“I fell into the blunder of changing fuel suppliers, and the car slowly started to increase gagging,” says taxi driver Ricardo Torres.

Ricardo is just one of thousands of victims of the fuel mafia. Gasoline mixed with solvent destroyed the engine of his car. “Who is responsible for this? Will the bill always stay with the consumer? ”, Says the taxi driver.

This week, Fantástico followed a mega-operation to disable a fraud scheme that affected four states and the Federal District. The gang acted from end to end in the fuel industry: from the alcohol plant to the gas stations.

In Campos dos Goytacazes, a city in the north of Rio de Janeiro, more than 100 police officers from 15 specialized police stations go in search of the accused. In a chic neighborhood in the city, police officers arrest the rooftop resident. According to the researchers, businessman Sérgio Soares is one of the heads of the scheme. He says he currently has two posts. In two years of investigation, the police found that he actually has 12 posts. Most in the name of oranges.

In a luxury condominium house with two imported cars in the garage, plus a prison. Paulo Bastos is the commercial director of Campos' main plant.

The gang scheme involved the plant to the gas station: all phases of alcohol production, distribution and commercialization. Without paying tax, he guaranteed a millionaire profit. According to the police, the fraud generated more than R $ 120 million for those involved.

It worked like this: first, the gang took alcohol from the plant with cold notes and then used facade distributors. Result: alcohol arrived at the mafia stations without paying tax, much cheaper. “Behind this low price is a chain of crimes” explains Ângelo Ribeiro, from the Fazendar Police Station in the state of RJ.

“Gang formation, documentary ideological falsehood, tax evasion, money laundering, crime against public health. Anyway, there are several crimes ”, lists Isabela Santoni, from the Fazendária Police Station -RJ. “They also started using methanol, which is a highly toxic and harmful to health biofuel, which is even capable of causing cancer”.

The police proved what everyone always suspected: those who evade also forge. The post under investigation for selling alcohol without paying tax has adulterated gasoline.

The expert makes a test on gasoline sold as additive and discovers yet another fraud: additive and common gasoline are the same.

In a conversation recorded with the authorization of the Justice, the owner of one of the stations involved tells the manager to mix the gasoline. “We are going to put the five (liters) of the common into the additive. No problem. It makes no difference, ”says Daniel.

But the gang also added solvent to gasoline, which causes losses for the driver. taxi driver Ricardo Torres complains: "I will spend an average of R $ 5 on this vehicle".

“The engine is the most expensive part, but I have a damaged fuel pump, damaged injector nozzles, hoses. I mean, everything in the car deteriorates, because solvents dissolve everything, ”says workshop owner Flavio Ferraz.

“The citizen pays that bill when they put a product in their car of terrible quality”, points out Ângelo Ribeiro, from the Fazendar Police in the state of RJ.

This week's arrests show that the fuel mafia is still at work. So be wary of very low prices and only look for positions that you trust.