Integration among security forces shields the Port of Santos against organized crime

Polícia Federal is responsible for investigating crimes that occur in the Port of Santos area (Alexsander Ferraz/AT)

Daily security at the Port of Santos, which turned 134 years old this month, relies directly on the work of four agencies: Guarda Portuária (GPort), Polícia Federal (PF), Federal Revenue and the Navy. In joint operations or separate actions, these authorities protect people, equipment, vessels and cargo.

With a staff of 350 officers and operations limited to the Port’s Poligonal area, GPort has a very broad role, but its main mission is to ensure the security of foreign trade. Its responsibilities include visible policing, access control to restricted areas, maritime patrol, monitoring of more than one thousand cameras, fire prevention and firefighting, and the training of dogs to detect narcotics and explosives.

Also on the list are traffic inspection and guidance through the Port Traffic Sector; support for strategic actions via the Strategic Actions Group (GAE); accreditation of companies, vehicles and individuals seeking access to the Port; and response to any type of incident within port limits.

“The main challenge is to protect without interfering — to enforce international port security standards without delaying operations — all while responding to multiple incidents. Another major challenge is ensuring the flow of 13,000 trucks per day,” the corporation summarized in a statement.

Navy

Navy (Sílvio Luiz/AT)

The Navy plays a fundamental role in maritime and port security at the Port of Santos and its access channel through the Southern-Southeastern Naval Patrol Group Command, a military organization subordinate to the 8th Naval District Command. Its responsibilities include patrol operations, port defense, search and rescue, as well as safeguarding human life at sea and preventing water pollution.

“The Navy operates in the protection of the Organized Port, including its maritime terminals, directly contributing to navigation safety, vessel traffic control and support in combating transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, smuggling and customs evasion,” the military force said in a statement.

The Navy highlights that it operates in permanent integration with other public security and inspection agencies. “This integration is strengthened by the Interagency Command and Control Center, planned for the Group’s new headquarters, which will allow greater operational synergy, especially in crisis management situations.”

Among the main daily challenges in protecting the Port of Santos are the complexity and high volume of maritime traffic and the fight against transnational crimes such as drug trafficking and other criminal activities that use the port environment as a route.

“Another relevant challenge is efficient coordination among multiple agencies, requiring systems integration, rapid decision-making and joint action. In this scenario, the operational presence of the Brazilian Navy and the modernization of its structures and technologies are decisive factors to ensure maritime security, national sovereignty and the safe operation of the most important port in the Southern Hemisphere,” it explained in a statement.

PF responsible for investigating crimes

Polícia Federal is responsible for investigating crimes that occur in the Port of Santos area, such as international drug trafficking. It also acts as an administrative and maritime police force to ensure security, public order and compliance with regulatory acts in border areas.

“Regarding administrative police duties, it performs migration control of people entering and leaving the country. In terms of judicial police work, it investigates federal crimes occurring in port facilities, especially drug trafficking,” the agency explained in a statement.

In addition, PF also works in preventing illicit activities as a maritime police force, the corporation detailed, noting that it cannot disclose its staffing levels.

Polícia Federal recalls that it operates in partnership with Federal Revenue, the Brazilian Navy and Guarda Portuária. In addition, Polícia Federal coordinates the State Commissions for Public Security in Ports (Cesportos), which oversee compliance with international security standards.

“The main daily challenges in protecting the Port are related to the vast territorial area to be monitored, the constantly changing modus operandi of criminals, and weather-related adversities,” it stated.

Federal Revenue

Federal Revenue (Sílvio Luiz/AT)

In turn, Federal Revenue is directly linked to the process of any goods entering or leaving the country through the Port of Santos.

“These include industrial inputs, machinery, equipment, clothing, food, electronics, automobiles and countless other items essential to the modern world. The volumes are enormous, and it is necessary to ensure both security and fluidity for this trade,” it said in a statement.

The Santos Customs Office explains that it uses a strategic risk management and analysis tool for cargo selection and blocking.

“Objective decision-making criteria, cross-checking of data entered into systems controlled by Federal Revenue and analysis of images generated during container scanning are procedures that ensure greater transparency and efficiency in selecting cargo units for inspection. Another important tool is the participation of Federal Revenue sniffer dogs,” it detailed.

The techniques are used both for export cargo — whose main illicit activity is drug shipments — and for import cargo — where counterfeit goods lead illegal activity.

The number of personnel allocated to the Customs Surveillance and Enforcement, Risk Management, Inspection and Intelligence teams is considered strategic.

“Whenever necessary, the Santos Customs Office can rely on reinforcement from personnel from other Federal Revenue units, in an important exchange of experience and best practices carried out in Santos. On this matter, a policy to increase the number of personnel through periodic public examinations is important,” it explained.

Strategic partnerships

Partnership with other agencies is also valued. “It is important to highlight the integration with other agencies operating at the Port of Santos (Polícia Federal, Navy, Guarda Portuária), security teams of the terminals themselves, customs units at other Brazilian ports, Customs authorities of other countries, other security agencies (Polícia Militar, Polícia Rodoviária Federal), and reinforcement from other Federal Revenue units, among other interactions,” PF stated.

Guarda Portuária maintains integration with several intervening agencies at the Port (Vanessa Rodrigues/AT/Arquivo)

Guarda Portuária

Guarda Portuária maintains integration with several intervening agencies at the Port (Vanessa Rodrigues/AT/Arquivo)

With a staff of 350 officers operating both on land and at sea, Guarda Portuária deals with a universe that has grown significantly since its creation in 1893. That year, the President of the Republic, Floriano Peixoto, established the regulations of the then Companhia Docas de Santos (CDS) and, with it, the internal policing of the Port of Santos.

Guarda Portuária controls access to the Port at 16 inspection posts, acts as the Traffic Authority on port roadways, conducts maritime patrol along the access channel and anchorage area, develops intelligence actions using drones, and performs visible policing across the entire Santos port complex.

Patrol area

The Port of Santos has 16 kilometers of quay length, 25 kilometers of navigation channel, 45 kilometers of public roads, more than 50 terminals, nearly 70 berths, 100 kilometers of rail lines and 55 kilometers of pipelines. On average, 12,000 tractor-trailers carrying varied cargo access the Santos waterfront each day.

However, this number is set to increase because the Port of Santos had its area expanded by 5.2 square kilometers, growing from 9.3 km² to 14.5 km² of land area — an increase of 56%. The expansion was authorized by the Ministério de Portos e Aeroportos (MPor) and published this week in the Diário Oficial da União (DOU).