Former Brazilian military police officer convicted in 2015 deaths arrested in New Hampshire

BOSTON — A former military police officer who was convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to more than 200 years in prison for his part in a 2015 Brazilian massacre has been arrested in New Hampshire, immigration officials said.

Antônio José de Abreu Vidal Filho, 29, became the subject of an active Interpol Red Notice issued by the international criminal police organization after he was convicted of 11 murders and sentenced in June to nearly 276 years in prison, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations office based in Boston said in a news release Wednesday.

He was arrested Monday in Rye, New Hampshire and will remain in custody pending a hearing before a federal immigration judge. No further details were provided on how he was tracked to New Hampshire or his activities there.

Vidal Filho was convicted by a criminal court in Brazil, along with three other military police officers, for the slaying of 11 people, three attempted homicides and torture in the poor suburbs of Fortaleza, the capital of the Ceara state.

Vidal Filho attended the trial remotely, as he had fled Brazil for the U.S. in 2019, online news site G1 reported.

In total, some 20 police officers are standing trial for the massacre.

The crimes took place in Nov. 2015 after the death of a police officer and during what’s become known as the “Curio Massacre,” after the name of the neighborhood in Fortaleza where they occurred.

An Interpol Red Notice serves as an international wanted notice and provides information on the identification of fugitives charged with or convicted of serious crimes who have fled prosecution or the serving of their sentence.