The infiltration of PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) members into São Paulo's bus transportation system is a three-decade-long story that dates back to the criminal group's consolidation in the state.
This process also involved the regularization of public transportation in the city's peripheral neighborhoods and the political rise of figures connected to the sector.
One of them is former city councilman Milton Leite (União Brasil), who was targeted by an operation by the Public Ministry and Civil Police on Thursday (17). He turned himself in to police on Friday afternoon (18), in Mogi das Cruzes, in Greater São Paulo.
In total, the courts authorized the temporary arrest of 16 people and searches at 18 addresses across the state.
Operation Vectura Corrupta alleged that the faction controls 12 bus companies in Greater São Paulo in a money laundering scheme. One of the companies under investigation is Transwolff, which operates in the city's southern zone. The company denies any irregularities.
The investigation classified the former president of the City Council as the "de facto owner" of Transwolff. According to investigators, the former councilman would be directly responsible for its operation.
In a phone conversation with Folha on Thursday morning (17), Milton denied any connection to Transwolff or to the criminal faction.
"I vehemently deny it. I don't know anyone from the PCC in my life. My relationship with the sector was institutional, at the request of then-Mayor Bruno Covas, including during the negotiation of a strike in 2019. There is no possibility of me being the owner [of Transwolff]. I never even owned a car," he said.
Transwolff's trajectory is similar to that of other bus companies identified as part of the scheme.
In the 1990s, with the privatization of the former CMTC (Municipal Public Transportation Company), clandestine vans proliferated throughout peripheral neighborhoods to meet transportation demand.
"There was a major transportation crisis during that decade. The clandestine sector gained considerable strength, generating interest from members of the faction that was growing at the time," explains prosecutor Lincoln Gakiya, from Gaeco (Special Action Group for the Repression of Organized Crime in São Paulo) of the São Paulo Public Ministry.
During this period, the PCC was also consolidating itself as the hegemonic criminal group in the state — the faction was founded in 1993.
In 2003, the administration of then-Mayor Marta Suplicy (PT) regularized and reorganized the service. Cooperatives of so-called "perueiros" (van drivers) were formed to divide routes in the peripheral areas.
"Faction members began buying vans. Later, when the cooperatives emerged, they purchased many shares and ended up taking control of some of these entities," says Gakiya.
One of the cooperatives investigated during that period was Cooperpam (Cooperative of Autonomous Transportation Workers in São Paulo), operating in the southern zone of the capital. Years later, it was transformed into a company and renamed Transwolff.
In 2006, one of those investigated for alleged ties to the PCC was Luiz Carlos Pacheco, known as Pandora, president of Cooperpam and currently the official owner of Transwolff.
At the time, he was arrested on suspicion of using the cooperative's funds in a prison escape plan. The courts concluded there was insufficient evidence. The inquiry was archived.
In 2024, Pandora was investigated in the Operation End of the Line. He and other directors of Transwolff were accused of fraudulently manipulating the company's accounting to include funds derived from drug trafficking. The agency also pointed out that the faction had made a capital contribution of R$ 50 million into the company.
According to the São Paulo State Public Prosecutor's Office (MP-SP), the directors had accumulated a luxury assets incompatible with their official earnings, including luxury cars and properties, as well as high-caliber weapons. The court has not yet ruled on the case. At the time, the city hall carried out an intervention in the company.
In a statement to Folha, the defense of Transwolff and Luiz Carlos Pacheco denied any irregularities and any connection with former city councilman Milton Leite.
"He [Milton] never had any shareholding in Transwolff, never participated in the management or gave orders at the company. Such a claim is completely mistaken and disconnected from reality," the company said.
"Businessman Luiz Carlos Pacheco had never been charged in any other situation in his life until the undue imputations of Operation End of the Line, which are being challenged in court, with the defense claiming his total innocence," it added.
Another target of this week's operation is businessman Paulo Korek Farias. In the 2000s, he operated a garage associated with Cooperpam.
Today, he owns A2 Transportes. According to the investigations, the company is also part of a money laundering scheme for the PCC. Police also cite audio recordings in which representatives of the company arrange illicit payments.
Both A2 and its owner deny any wrongdoing. "A2 Transportes has never had any involvement with the PCC and has never laundered money. Our resources come exclusively from contracts and payments made by the city hall for the services we provide," Farias stated.
Another figure from São Paulo's political scene linked to the transportation sector was also arrested this year on suspicion of ties to the PCC. In June and August, city councilman Senival Moura (PT) spent 43 days in custody as part of Operation Last Stop, which also investigated the sector.
Messages obtained by police from cell phones revealed the alleged role of Senival in the distribution of funds from Transunião — a company suspected of operating a money laundering scheme.
According to the investigations, the lawmaker was "the true holder of the power to conduct the parallel financial management structure" of the transportation company and functioned as a kind of "superior deliberative body regarding the informal movement of funds."
Since the 1990s, Senival has been linked to the transportation sector. At the time, he was one of the operators of clandestine minivans that circulated in the eastern zone.
When he was released by the court on August 6, Senival's defense denied any irregularities.
For Gakiya, the bus sector has become a lucrative and accessible channel for sustaining illicit operations, such as drug trafficking.
"This is a highly profitable service for organized crime, because it is a unique opportunity to launder money. The faction manages to mix what is paid by city hall, the revenue generated by passengers, and the money derived from drug trafficking," he said.
Last year, the city hall transferred R$ 7.1 billion in subsidies to bus companies.
Political scientist Jacqueline Muniz, a professor in the Department of Public Security at UFF (Fluminense Federal University), says that the PCC's penetration into public services is building "a power structure in partnership with the State."
"When a faction controls the movement of people, it can expand markets, regulate territories, interfere in daily life and accumulate economic and political bargaining power," he says.
In a statement, the Ricardo Nunes administration said it "does not condone any irregularities or illegal practices in the public transport system."
It also stated that the mayor ordered "the creation of a working group to rigorously analyze all elements of the case."
Timeline of São Paulo's bus system
1990s – Van operators ("perueiros") work clandestinely in public transport
2003 – Creation of driver cooperatives with the regulation of clandestine vans
Jun. 2006 – Luiz Carlos Pacheco, then president of Cooperpam, is arrested on suspicion of financing the escape of prisoners
2014 – City hall begins requiring driver cooperatives to convert into companies
Mar. 4, 2020 – Adauto Soares Jorge, president of the company Transunião, is killed in the eastern zone of São Paulo. He was close to city councilman Senival Moura (PT). The crime is believed to have been ordered by the faction
Apr. 2024 – Operation Fim da Linha investigates the involvement of companies Transwolff and UPBus in a PCC money laundering scheme
Jun. 25, 2026 – City councilman Senival Moura is arrested on suspicion of running a company with ties to the PCC
Sep. 16, 2026 – Operation Vectura Corrupta arrests former city councilman Milton Leite on suspicion of running the company Transwolff
