STJ rejects interim release request in Mato Grosso lottery case

Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) rejected Wellington Pereira’s interim request for release on 15 July, while he remains in preventive detention over suspected links to the Comando Vermelho and the illegal Raspa Brasil lottery. The investigation says the network operated in more than 20 cities and directed over 80% of its profits to organised crime; the full appeal will be considered later by a panel of judges.