Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) carried out a series of high-profile arrests at São Paulo/Guarulhos Airport over the 29–30 December period, underscoring the agency’s tougher holiday-season border posture. The headline case involved a foreign national wanted in Paraguay for multiple homicides who tried to enter Brazil on a counterfeit Brazilian passport after arriving on a flight from Madrid. Alerts from Ameripol and Interpol’s red-notice database flagged the document, and officers detained the suspect at primary inspection.
On the same shift, PF officers apprehended three Brazilian fugitives—two for domestic-violence warrants and one for child-support evasion—identified through the new “Aero-Mandado” biometric match system that cross-checks boarding passes against national and state warrant databases in real time.
The operation came amid the peak New-Year travel rush, when GRU processes up to 120,000 passengers a day. Authorities said staffing on immigration counters has been boosted by 25 % between 20 December and 5 January, with canine units deployed to secondary baggage screening.
![Federal Police nab Paraguayan fugitive with fake Brazilian passport at GRU, tighten holiday border checks]()
For travellers looking to stay ahead of these stricter controls, VisaHQ’s online portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) can pre-screen passports, secure Brazilian visas, and deliver real-time entry-requirement updates directly to corporate mobility teams—providing a simple buffer against the sort of last-minute snags now surfacing at GRU.
For corporate mobility managers the message is clear: travellers must carry original passports, ensure entry stamps match travel records and avoid tight domestic connections that could be missed if secondary inspections occur. Companies hosting foreign guests should double-check invitation letters and lodging registrations, as PF officers have signalled random compliance sweeps at major hotels.
The PF added that the holiday surge is a testing ground for expanded real-time data sharing with neighbouring countries—an initiative aligned with Brazil’s broader push toward fully digital borders.
On the same shift, PF officers apprehended three Brazilian fugitives—two for domestic-violence warrants and one for child-support evasion—identified through the new “Aero-Mandado” biometric match system that cross-checks boarding passes against national and state warrant databases in real time.
The operation came amid the peak New-Year travel rush, when GRU processes up to 120,000 passengers a day. Authorities said staffing on immigration counters has been boosted by 25 % between 20 December and 5 January, with canine units deployed to secondary baggage screening.
For travellers looking to stay ahead of these stricter controls, VisaHQ’s online portal (https://www.visahq.com/brazil/) can pre-screen passports, secure Brazilian visas, and deliver real-time entry-requirement updates directly to corporate mobility teams—providing a simple buffer against the sort of last-minute snags now surfacing at GRU.
For corporate mobility managers the message is clear: travellers must carry original passports, ensure entry stamps match travel records and avoid tight domestic connections that could be missed if secondary inspections occur. Companies hosting foreign guests should double-check invitation letters and lodging registrations, as PF officers have signalled random compliance sweeps at major hotels.
The PF added that the holiday surge is a testing ground for expanded real-time data sharing with neighbouring countries—an initiative aligned with Brazil’s broader push toward fully digital borders.
