SAO PAULO: With the Fifa Confederations Cup just a few weeks away, the Brazilian military launched its biggest operation on its borders with 10 countries to combat drugs smuggling, trafficking in arms and ammunition, environmental crimes, illegal immigration and other crimes. At 6am on Saturday, more than 25,000 troops of the Brazilian army, air force and navy began the " Operation Agata 7 ", with assistance from federal police agents, highway patrol and other government agencies throughout the country.

The Confederations Cup, which opens on June 15 in Brasilia will see the current world champions Spain and five-time World Cup winner Brazil compete with six other teams, including Italy, Japan and Nigeria, for the second most important trophy in world football. The 15-day Fifa event will give the Brazilian team a chance to win the cup third time in a row. Also, it's an opportunity for the government to test and fine-tune its infrastructure for the World Cup in June 2014 in six host cities — Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador.

To put in place a foolproof security system before the mega-event, the military operation began on Saturday, with the navy using river patrol boats, UH-12 helicopters, ships and floating hospitals. While the Brazilian army is testing its aircraft and armoured vehicles for the transport of troops and the ground forces are doing drills on highway and at strategic points on the Brazilian border, the air force is deploying its Super Tucano aircraft (A-29), the F5EM, aircraft radars, UAVs and choppers.

Overall, the three wings of Brazilian military are conducting the operation on its 16,886 km-long international border (almost four times the length of India's boundary with China) with 10 South American countries.

Before the operation was launched, the Brazilian government informed the neighbouring countries about the drills by its military along their borders. In past two years, the Brazilian ministry of defence has held six editions of Operation Agata. But, the military operation is not limited to combating crimes and trafficking in the border areas, it also includes civic and social actions like providing medical and dental facilities to the needy families and communities.

According to the government, in the past six editions of the operation, more than 60,000 people were provided medical assistance and 9000 were vaccinated.

Incidentally, this huge military operation which also aims to check illegal immigration into Brazil, began just days after the Brazilian police identified a gang specializing in trafficking Bangladeshi nationals into the country. On Wednesday, 80 Bangladeshi workers, who were lured by their own countrymen with promises of earning up to $1,500 a month, were rescued by the Brazilian authorities in the federal capital, Brasilia. The Bangladeshis arrived in Brazil after paying the smugglers nearly $10,000 per person.

South America's biggest economy has recently seen a steep rise in cases of illegal immigration. The smugglers have been using routes across the borders of Peru, Bolivia and Guyana to bring illegal immigrants to Brazil. With the number of such people on the rise, Brazil has sought the help of Peru and Bolivia to prevent the influx of illegal immigrants, most of whom are undocumented Haitians.

The increase of Haitian immigrants began after the 2010 Haiti earthquake , which leveled much of its capital city Port-au-Prince. Last year, Brazil issued work visas to the immigrants already in the country and announced the grant of 1,200 work visas a year to Haitians in order to curb illegal entry.

On Wednesday, the governments of Bolivia and Brazil began the last round of talks for a joint strategy to fight drug and human trafficking. The two countries are in the process of developing a common operation policy to confront the organized crime, including drugs and human trafficking, and prevent crime at the border.

In recent years, Brazil has launched a series of operations against criminal gangs operating on its borders and in its cities as the country prepares to organize some high-profile global events. Immediately after the Confederations Cup next month, Brazil is hosting World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. The six-day event — from July 23 to 28 — will be Pope Francis' first international engagement outside the Vatican.

