The Public Prosecution Office of the Brazilian State of Rio de Janeiro created a especialised division in fighting cartels and defending the  free competition (acronym in Portuguese, DACAR). This new division is a result of the recent national policy of increasing the criminal enforcement against cartel activities.

According to officials, DACAR will have the support of the first CSI office specialized in cartel activities. The forensics laboratory is expected to work together with the Secretariat of Economic Law (SDE), providing high tech support to detect and dismantle cartels. The idea is that the SDE will providethe necessary equipment to build DACAR’s laboratory.

Rio de Janeiro is the third Brazilian State to have a specialized division of the Public Prosecutor focused on the fight against cartels. In September 2008, the Public Prosecution Office of the State of São Paulo was the pioneer with the establishment of the Special Group against Cartels, Money-Laundering and Public Assets Recovery (acronym in Portuguese, GEDEC). Some months later, it was created a similar division in the Public Prosecution Office in the State of Paraíba.