Brasília, May 14, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The Federal Police (PF) made four more arrests today, raising to eleven the number of employees of the National Indian Foundation (Funai) detained for involvement in an international scheme to traffic Brazilian Indian handcrafts.

According to information from the PF's press office, the gang is composed of employees assigned to Brasília and the states of Pará, Rondônia, and Mato Grosso, with the participation and involvement of Indians in these locales. The Federal Police also suspect the involvement of a Yugoslavian man who is married to a Brazilian and is already under arrest in Europe for international trafficking of wild animals.

The arrests are the result of the "Pindorama Operation," which has been investigating the scheme for a year and four months. According to the PF, trafficking handcrafts is easier, because Indians are authorized to hunt animals and sell products for their own sustenance, facilitating the traffickers' access to the most valuable raw materials on the international market, such as tortoise shells, bird feathers (especially macaws), and monkey and wildcat teeth, which are the most highly prized.

Translator: David Silberstein