The former president of SPTrans, the agency that manages public transportation in São Paulo, Levi dos Santos Oliveira was arrested on the morning of this Thursday (17) during a police operation investigating the infiltration of members of the PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital). His defense said it had not yet had access to the content of the court decision that authorized the operation.
On this Thursday (17), the Civil Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office are executing temporary arrest warrants against 16 suspects believed to be involved with the criminal faction and participating in the transportation sector.
The operation, dubbed Vectura Corrupta, targets suspicions that 12 bus companies providing collective transportation services in municipalities in the state of São Paulo came to be administered by members of the faction after winning bids in the sector. There are also suspicions of corruption of public officials.
According to the decision by judge Sérgio Ribas, Levi maintained "periodic meetings" with José Daniel Satilite, identified by the investigation as one of the criminal faction's "front men."
According to the decision, the meetings had the "exclusive purpose of addressing PCC interests related to public transportation companies."
Levi served as president of SPTrans on two occasions. The first was in 2020, when he was appointed to the position by former mayor Bruno Covas.
After current mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) assumed the role following Covas's death, Levi left SPTrans and took over the Municipal Secretariat of Mobility and Traffic. In 2022, he returned to the position of president of the company, where he remained until February 2025.
In a statement to Folha, Oliveira's defense said it had not yet had access to the case files or the "circumstances that formed the basis of the measure."
"Levi dos Santos Oliveira, a first-time offender with no prior record, built over decades a trajectory of relevant public services rendered to the city of São Paulo, working at SPTrans, where he established himself as a technical reference in his field," said the law firm Fernando José da Costa Advogados.
"As soon as he has access to the content of the decision and the elements on which it was based, he will take the appropriate legal measures, with confidence in the legal means for the prompt clarification of the facts and the revocation of his detention," it added.
Former city councilman Milton Leite is another target of the operation. The court ordered his temporary arrest. He was not found at his addresses and is considered a fugitive.
In a phone conversation with Folha, the former councilman said he is outside São Paulo and that he is not a fugitive. "I will turn myself in within 24 hours. I am organizing things with my lawyers," he said. Leite denied all accusations, including that he would be the owner of the bus company Transwolf.
"I vehemently deny it. I don't know anyone from the PCC in this life. My relationship with the (transportation) sector was institutional, at the request of then-mayor Bruno Covas, including in the negotiation of a strike in 2019. There is absolutely no possibility that I am the owner [of Transwolf]. I never even owned a car. Transwolf has 600 cooperative members — how can I be the owner of a group of 600 cooperative members?" he said.