And that is what happened in Australia, where the PCC was attracted by an “emerging market”, said Duton, whose report notes that a kilogram of cocaine valued at £2,400 ($3,000) in Colombia can sell for £8,000 in Brazil, £37,000 to £50,000 in Europe, and £127,000 to £159,000 ($160,000 to $200,000) in Australia and New Zealand.
The diver found dead in 2022 was later identified as Bruno Borges Martins, who, before the expedition, worked performing underwater repairs on vessels in Santos, the Brazilian city home to the largest port in Latin America – through which the PCC exports a significant portion of its drugs.
The First Capital Command (PCC) now has a growing crime portfolio, with interests across Latin America including cocaine markets and illegal goldmines, and it controls a key drug trafficking market to Europe.
“In the past 15 years, the PCC’s primary source of profit has shifted to cocaine exports,” said Bruno Paes Manso, a journalist and researcher at the University of São Paulo’s Centre for the Study of Violence.
Australia’s illicit drug market, Duton said, presents a “compelling opportunity for transnational organised crime groups due to its high profitability and relative market stability”.
