Official: PCC, a criminal gang, is the prime suspect in setting fire to Brazil's farmland.

A senior official in the state of Sao Paulo said that some of the suspects who set fire to sugarcane crops in the state admitted to police that they were linked to a gang, and that their actions against crime by the government was a form of retaliation.

The fires started last week quickly spread through parched fields over the weekend. This was the height of the dry season in the country. They destroyed thousands of hectares and sent clouds of smoke to cover nearby cities.

Guilherme Piai, the State Agriculture Secretary, said that multiple fires began simultaneously at different places. This indicated that these fires were not accidental.

The government suspects one of Brazil's biggest crime gangs - Primeiro Comando da Capital, also known as PCC, was behind the fires. They were seeking to retaliate to measures taken to combat the criminal traffic in adulterated gasoline.

"Organized Crime has bought hundreds of gas stations and some bankrupt fuel factories. Piai suggested that this could be a way to retaliate against the organized crime actions.

PCC, founded in 1993 by prisoners at a maximum-security prison in Sao Paulo, has evolved from a drug trafficking gang to Brazil's most powerful criminal gang.

Brazil's Agriculture minister Carlos Favaro described the fires on sugarcane fields earlier as criminal. He did not provide any details.

Over 2,100 fires broke out in sugarcane fields. This resulted in the destruction of 59,000 acres of sugarcane and regrowth zones. Sao Paulo is responsible for half of Brazil's total sugarcane plantation.

According to the Organization of Cane Producers Associations Orplana, the fires resulted in losses of 350 million reais (63.59 millions dollars).

The State Governor Tarcisio de Freitas estimates that the total losses due to damage to crops, other properties, and activities are more than 1 billion reals.

Freitas reported that by Monday, four men were arrested for being in possession of containers containing gasoline intended to ignite fields. Authorities said that a fifth suspect was captured on Tuesday. ($1 = 5,5043 reais). (Reporting and writing by Roberto Samora; Editing by William Maclean).

(source: Reuters)