Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) completed a trio of high-profile enforcement actions at São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport between the evenings of 18 and 19 December, signalling a zero-tolerance stance as holiday traffic peaks. In the first operation migration agents executed a Bahia-court warrant and confiscated a Brazilian businessman’s passport over unpaid labour debts, a tactic courts increasingly use to force settlement before offenders can leave the country.
Hours later two Brazilian women bound for Brussels via Madrid were intercepted when X-ray scans revealed 10 kg of cocaine hidden in false-bottom suitcases. They face international-trafficking charges that carry sentences of up to 15 years. Finally, in the early hours of 19 December officers arrested a U.S. national after 16 kg of hashish was discovered in checked baggage. The back-to-back incidents come on top of a 27 % year-on-year rise in drug seizures at GRU.
![Federal Police seize passport and arrest three couriers in 24-hour Guarulhos blitz]()
If you or your employees need to organise travel documents amid this tighter scrutiny, VisaHQ can simplify the process. The online platform’s Brazil hub (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) offers step-by-step visa support, real-time status tracking and alerts for missing paperwork, reducing the risk of last-minute complications at PF checkpoints.
For mobility managers the message is two-fold. First, expect longer queues and more intrusive baggage checks as PF ramps up staffing through 5 January under its “Operação Fim de Ano” plan. Second, companies relocating employees abroad should screen for outstanding Brazilian court orders that could trigger last-minute passport holds.
Travel-risk consultants advise instructing staff to arrive at least three hours before departure, keep devices unlocked for inspection and carry work-permit receipts in hand luggage. With PF empowered to detain passports even for civil-debt cases, HR teams may need contingency policies to cover hotel and rebooking costs when travellers are unexpectedly grounded.
Hours later two Brazilian women bound for Brussels via Madrid were intercepted when X-ray scans revealed 10 kg of cocaine hidden in false-bottom suitcases. They face international-trafficking charges that carry sentences of up to 15 years. Finally, in the early hours of 19 December officers arrested a U.S. national after 16 kg of hashish was discovered in checked baggage. The back-to-back incidents come on top of a 27 % year-on-year rise in drug seizures at GRU.
If you or your employees need to organise travel documents amid this tighter scrutiny, VisaHQ can simplify the process. The online platform’s Brazil hub (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) offers step-by-step visa support, real-time status tracking and alerts for missing paperwork, reducing the risk of last-minute complications at PF checkpoints.
For mobility managers the message is two-fold. First, expect longer queues and more intrusive baggage checks as PF ramps up staffing through 5 January under its “Operação Fim de Ano” plan. Second, companies relocating employees abroad should screen for outstanding Brazilian court orders that could trigger last-minute passport holds.
Travel-risk consultants advise instructing staff to arrive at least three hours before departure, keep devices unlocked for inspection and carry work-permit receipts in hand luggage. With PF empowered to detain passports even for civil-debt cases, HR teams may need contingency policies to cover hotel and rebooking costs when travellers are unexpectedly grounded.
