BOSTON – Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the results of a year-long federal investigation into illegal firearm sales across Massachusetts.
According to the charging documents, the investigation identified Brazilian nationals in several communities in Massachusetts who have allegedly been involved in the sale of various types of firearms. It is further alleged that some of the firearms were tied to gang-related activities involving a large transnational criminal organization, Primeiro Comando da Capital, as well as smaller, local street gangs, specifically the “Tropa de Sete” and “Trem Bala” street gangs. Primeiro Comando da Capital, originally founded in the prison systems in São Paulo, Brazil, is one of the largest criminal organizations in Brazil and Latin America. It is alleged that Primeiro Comando da Capital members and their associates are known to commit violent offenses in furtherance of the organization, to include murders, armed robberies, kidnappings and the coordination of a transnational drug trafficking operation.
To date, approximately 110 firearms, trafficking quantities of fentanyl and ammunition have been seized over the course of the investigation which began in 2024. The firearms allegedly recovered include, but are not limited to, handguns, rifles, short-barreled rifles and shotguns that were primarily trafficked from areas in Florida and South Carolina into Massachusetts…