Civil Police in São Paulo arrested Leandro Teixeira de Andrade, known by the aliases "Portuga" and "Benfica," during a targeted operation at an apartment in the coastal city of Santos. Identified by investigators as a logistics operator linked to the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) criminal organization, Andrade was a fugitive from federal justice and was also booked on new drug trafficking charges following the seizure of suspicious materials at the scene.
The criminal proceedings against Andrade date back to 2013, when he was indicted in the 5th Federal Court of Santos alongside four co-defendants, including André de Oliveira Macedo, known as "André do Rap." In 2015, the federal court convicted the group of transnational drug trafficking. While his co-defendants fled, Andrade was detained in 2017. In November 2025, the 5th Federal Court of Santos issued an arrest warrant ordering him to serve the remaining eight years and nine months of his definitive prison sentence in a closed penitentiary regime.
According to the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP), detectives from the Santos narcotics division (Dise/Deic) located Andrade on Avenida Epitácio Pessoa through intelligence data analysis. Officers seized 4,000 US dollars in cash, mobile phones, a vehicle, port worker uniforms from two shipping terminals, a bag containing white powder, and a handwritten notebook. Police delegate Leonardo Rivau reported that the notes detailed chemical formulas for diluting cocaine and impregnating the narcotic into clothing fabrics for smuggling.
During formal questioning, Andrade exercised his constitutional right to remain silent and declined to provide handwriting samples for forensic examination. Defense attorney Felipe Pires de Campos told reporters that the arrest was executed under the preexisting 2013 federal conviction. The attorney stated that the police considered the items found in the property sufficient to justify a new in flagrante arrest for drug trafficking, adding that the defense is reviewing the formal records to determine future legal measures.
Luiz Carlos do Carmo, director of the regional police department Deinter 6, stated that investigators will analyze the seized items to trace potential criminal associates. Andrade remains in custody awaiting a custody hearing regarding the new trafficking charge before his scheduled transfer to the state prison system to serve his outstanding federal sentence.