Under orders from the Rio de Janeiro Prosecutor's Office, the Police carried out an operation against "The Crime Office," a group of far-right hitmen suspected of having murdered the Socialist councilor Marielle Franco in 2018.
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On Monday, authorities detained two members of this criminal organization, which has links to the militias formed by ex-police or corrupt policemen who control some areas of Rio.
One of those arrested is Leonardo Gouvea da Silva who was in charge of negotiating, planning, and coordinating crimes. His brother, Leandro Gouvea da Silva, acted as the group's driver and collected information on the victims.
"The organization has an orderly structure and focused, above all, on planning and executing commissioned homicides," the prosecution said.
In February, the police shot and killed Adriano da Nobrega, who was under investigation for the murder of Franco who was well-known for investigating extrajudicial police killings in Rio.
"Nobrega was a former captain and had ties to the Bolsonaro family," local outlet Congresso in Foco highlighted and recalled that the hitman was mentioned in the corruption case against President Jair Bolsonaro's son, Favio, who is being investigated regarding the management of his employees' wages when he was a state lawmaker.
"The killer of Marielle lived in three houses away from Bolsonaro's. The Crime Office head was in a place that belonged to a councilor of Bolsonaro's party. Queiroz was at the house of Bolsonaro's lawyer. Quite a coincidence, right?
Nobrega's sister and mother worked in Favio Bolsonaro's office in the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly.
"Even after being charged with crimes, Adriano was honored by Flavio and President Jair Bolsonaro," Congresso in Foco added.
Until now, former police officers Elcio Queiroz and Ronnie Lessa have been detained as material authors of Franco's murder. The masterminds, however, have not yet been detected.