São João de Meriti Raids Target Comando Vermelho as Councilor Is Detained

Overview

• Police moved into the Bacia do Éden, Castelinho and nearby areas to serve 16 arrest warrants and 33 search warrants.
• Authorities reported four to five detentions so far, and local outlets cited no confrontations during the action.
• Councilor Marcos Henrique Matos de Aquino was arrested in flagrante after officers found a firearm registered to another person and controlled medications in his vehicle.
• He was not an initial target, and teams were searching for his brother, Luiz Matos de Aquino, who is named in a search warrant and had not been located.
• The operation brings together DRE‑CAP, CORE and BOPE to collect evidence, seize illicit assets and remove barricades that restrict residents’ movement.