Brazil. Luis Antonio da Silva Braga – Rio de Janeiro's most wanted man – arrested

Luis Antonio da Silva Braga, the leader of Rio de Janeiro's largest militia, which controls the western part of the city, surrendered Sunday to Brazilian federal police, CNN Brasil reported. The search for the 44-year-old, also known as Zhenhu, has been ongoing since 2018. At least 12 arrest warrants have been issued against him.

CNN's Brazilian edition reported that Zinho's surrender to officers was the result of negotiations between lawyers representing the 44-year-old, federal police and the state's Public Security Secretariat. This came a week after arrest warrants were issued against a parliamentarian suspected of collaborating with the militia led by da Silva Braga and 17 members of a criminal group.

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As CNN Brasil noted, after his arrest on Sunday, Luis Antonio da Silva Braga underwent routine medical examinations. He was then transferred to a maximum security prison.

The search for da Silva Braga began in 2018 in connection with charges of laundering money from the criminal activities of Rio de Janeiro's largest militia. Charges in this case were later dropped. However, he was accused of committing other crimes, first as a member, and then as the leader of a criminal group for more than a year. He is accused, among other things, of the murder of a former local councilor – reports the Folha de São Paulo portal.

At the end of October, the organization led by Zinho set fire to at least 35 buses on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. This action was most likely in response to the murder of Mateus da Silva Rezende, da Silva Braga's nephew and right-hand man, Folha de São Paulo explained. As a result of the militias' actions, schools were closed and traffic was paralyzed in part of the city.

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