Military police arrested three men for drug trafficking on 31 October 2026 at kilometre 532 of the Prefeito Homero Severo Lins highway (SP-284) in Martinópolis, São Paulo.[1] Officers on patrol spotted a car with Rancharia plates travelling at high speed with its headlights off and followed it into a petrol station beside the highway.[1] The three occupants were stopped in the station forecourt, with only a mobile phone found on the driver.[1] The man next to the front passenger seat carried another phone and R$20, while the rear-seat passenger carried a third phone.[1] The two passengers said the drugs belonged to them and that the driver had only been hired to drive.[1]
Under the front passenger mat officers found a green plastic bag with nine portions of cocaine and 18 large crack rocks wrapped in clear plastic, and two marijuana (maconha) tablets wrapped in brown plastic on the rear seat.[1] Police also seized the car, three mobile phones and R$20, and took the drugs and vehicle into custody.[1]
The men said they had left Rancharia and were taking the drugs to other people in Martinópolis.[1] The Polícia Militar, São Paulo’s uniformed patrol police, handled the stop, and all three remained in custody at the disposal of the courts.[2]
