Brazil's federal police arrest top criminal leader Zinho after negotiations

Brazil’s federal police say one of the country’s most wanted criminals has turned himself in after negotiations with local authorities

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil's federal police said one of the country's top criminal leaders surrendered Sunday after negotiations with local authorities.

Luiz Antônio da Silva Braga, better known as Zinho, is the top leader of the largest militia group in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He had 12 arrest warrants issued against him, federal police said.

“After the formalities due to his arrest, the inmate was taken for medical forensics and then sent to the state’s prison system, where he will remain available for our courts,” federal police said.

Militias emerged in the 1990s when they originally were made up mainly of former police officers, firefighters and soldiers who wanted to combat lawlessness in their neighborhoods. They charged residents for protection and other services, and more recently moved into drug trafficking themselves.

Zinho's group dominates Rio's west region, where several members of his gang were killed in recent years. He had been on the run since 2018.