Brazilian federal prosecutors have formally accused Alexandre Rodrigues Gomes, the son of a Paraguayan lawmaker killed during a police raid in 2024, of involvement in international cocaine trafficking.
The charges, filed on February 9 and obtained by local media, include transnational drug trafficking with the use of a firearm. Gomes also faces money laundering allegations tied to drug operations in Paraguay. He has been detained since 2024, though his case has not yet gone to trial.
Gomes was indicted alongside his father, Eulalio “Lalo” Gomes, a Colorado Party congressman who died in a shootout during an August 2024 police raid on a family property. The younger Gomes fled the scene but later turned himself in.
His defense attorney, Noelia Núñez, insists there is insufficient evidence linking him to any crimes, stating that Paraguayan and Brazilian authorities lack proof beyond encrypted messages.
Brazil’s embassy in Asunción has requested his extradition for preventive detention, citing allegations that he coordinated regular flights carrying cocaine into Brazil. According to the indictment, Gomes allegedly led a criminal network that shipped drugs from Andean production zones to Paraguay or Brazil, overseeing a fleet of aircraft and recruiting pilots for smuggling runs.
Prosecutors claim he operated two secret airstrips—one in Paraguay and one in Brazil—where cocaine from Bolivia and Colombia was transported onward to Brazil. From there, the drugs were reportedly sent through Brazilian ports to Europe.
The case, dubbed “Operation Balkans,” stems from a 2021 probe called “Hinterland,” which uncovered a massive drug pipeline involving Paraguay and Brazil, moving at least 11 tonnes of cocaine to Europe between 2020 and 2021. Investigators cracked that scheme by confiscating encrypted phones using apps like Sky ECC. While Gomes wasn’t charged in the earlier inquiry, his name later appeared in Sky chats, though his lawyer argues these messages are insufficient for a conviction.
“There are no witnesses, no documentary proof, and no proper means to link Alexandre to the case beyond those Sky messages,” Núñez said.
Prosecutors also allege Gomes used a shell company, FRG Constructora S.A., to launder drug profits into luxury real estate, such as the Tetryz Palace in Pedro Juan Caballero, a border city. Núñez countered that her client has testified that all property purchases were legitimate.