"Politicians, political opponents and journalists, among other people, were illegally monitored by a group of officials from the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin, by its Portuguese acronym), according to a Federal Police investigation revealed on Friday [Oct. 20]. The investigation, known as 'Operation Last Mile,' is carrying out arrest warrants against two Abin employees, as well as search and seizure warrants in the states of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Paraná, and Goiás and in the Federal District. The accusations date to the Jair Bolsonaro administration, more specifically to the period when the agency was led by today's federal congressman Alexandre Ramagem, a family friend of the former president.
According to the investigation, the geolocation system used by Abin is a software that can access Brazil's critical telephone infrastructure. The telephone network has been hacked repeatedly using a service purchased with public funds. A report published by the O Globo newspaper in March revealed that the tool was used to monitor the steps of up to 10,000 cell phone owners every 12 months, without any judicial authorization."
