Brazilian police launched a mega operation in several states Thursday to crush a criminal network that sold adulterated fuel to clients and concealed billions of dollars in earnings in cahoots with financial companies, officials said.

The group allegedly laundered money for the First Capital Command (PCC), one of the country's most powerful gangs engaged in cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe, according to prosecutors.

The network is alleged to have hidden ill-gotten gains of some 52 billion reais (about $9.6 billion) in investment funds and fintech digital companies in four years to 2024, according to the Federal Revenue Service (RFB).

It controlled four refineries and allegedly diluted fuel products to increase yield and cheated clients with dispensers that supplied less

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