The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro launched, on Thursday (9), an operation in the community of Castelar, in the city of Belford Roxo, in Rio de Janeiro, to fulfill 56 arrest warrants.
So far, 31 arrests have been carried out through the issued warrants, and another two people have been arrested in the act. Five prisoners are suspected of having participated in the death and disappearance of the boys. Another 26 are imprisoned for association with drug trafficking.
Among the warrants issued, 15 were already under arrest before the operation.
The authorities complete the ongoing investigation at the Baixada Fluminense Homicide Police (DHBF), which investigates the death and disappearance of the bodies of the boys Lucas Matheus da Silva, 8 years old, Alexandre da Silva, 10 years old, and Fernando Henrique, 12 years old .
Participating in the operation, this Thursday (9), about 250 police officers from the DHBF, the General Department of Specialized Police (DGPE), the General Police Department of Baixada (DGPB) and the Special Resources Coordination (Core).
The crime took place in December of last year. The three left home to play in the street and never returned. In September of this year, the Baixada Fluminense Homicide Police pointed out that a cage with a little bird was the reason for the boys’ deaths.
According to witnesses heard by investigators, the children had a falling out with the head of trafficking in the Castelar community, in Belford Roxo, Rio de Janeiro, after catching a bird that belonged to the criminal.
The main line of investigation, since the beginning of the investigations, connected the disappearance to the action of drug trafficking. Nine months after the search began, the Civil Police claims that the children died at the behest of the drug dealer. The bodies are still missing.
understand the case
Cousins Lucas and Alexandre da Silva, aged 8 and 10, disappeared on the afternoon of December 27, 2020, in the company of their friend, Fernando Henrique Ribeiro, 12 years old.
The trio had met to play ball, but decided to go to the Areia Branca Fair – on a route traditionally taken in the company of their father and stepfather, to buy bird food.
This version was told by colleagues who saw them before they disappeared. “Xande loves animals. When there’s an animal at home, he treats like a baby”, said Lucas and Alexandre’s grandmother, Silvia Reginaldo Silva, who has already sheltered several animals rescued by her grandson.
The information about their going to the popular fair was the last that the families had.
Since lunchtime on that Sunday, when the disappearance was noticed, the lives of parents, uncles, grandparents, friends and neighbors were all about looking for the boys. The police report was registered with the Civil Police. The case gained repercussions. The security forces were mobilized at the behest of the acting governor, Cláudio Castro.
The images from more than 40 cameras were analyzed by the Baixada Fluminense Homicide Police, no clues had been found.
In March, reviewing the captured images, the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MP-RJ) found records of them on cameras located on Malopia Street, in a neighborhood next to the Castelar community. The suspicion is that the trio has been captured by drug dealers in that region.
Also in January, a man –who did not have his identity revealed– was even taken to the police station by the boys’ relatives. He was held responsible for the disappearance. But, after giving a statement, the police released him as they had no connection with the case.
The release generated demonstrations, pointed out by the police as a way for the drug trade to divert the attention of the community to hinder the investigations.
* With information from Amábyle Sandri and Camille Couto, from CNN
Reference: CNN Brasil
