# Criminal investigations and arrests in Brazil

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/criminal-investigations-and-arrests-in-brazil
> Updated: 2026-08-21T02:37:55.000Z. Sources: 24. Developments: 3.

Criminal investigations and law enforcement actions in Brazil have resulted in various arrests and judicial rulings. In Minas Gerais, a court decision excluded a woman from an inheritance after she was convicted of ordering her husband’s murder in 2014. 

Law enforcement operations have targeted sexual offenders and fugitives across multiple states. Arrests were made in Canoas, Manaus, São Paulo, and Atibaia involving individuals accused of abusing minors or vulnerable persons. Authorities also sought the extradition of a man in Japan for child abuse committed in Ipatinga. 

In subsequent operations, police apprehended a man in Alagoas who had been a fugitive for six years regarding a 2020 rape in Minas Gerais. Additionally, a suspect was arrested in Conselheiro Lafaiete after allegedly murdering his wife in Contagem, reportedly confessing to the crime following his apprehension.

In a recent interstate operation named ‘Operação Rastro’, coordinated by the Department of Organized Crime Repression (Dracco), a fugitive known as ‘Jorge Negão’ died following a shootout with police in the rural area of Bujari, Acre. Jorge Henrique dos Santos Fernandes had been a fugitive for approximately two years and was a primary suspect in the September 2023 murder of Paraíba civil police officer Jerre Adriano de Sousa Ribeiro. During the encounter, Fernandes reportedly opened fire on police teams; he was shot and later died at a local hospital. Officers seized a shotgun, a pistol, and a false identity document at the location.

## Timeline

### 2026-08-21: Police kill suspect in Paraíba officer's murder during Acre operation

Jorge Henrique dos Santos Fernandes, a suspect in the 2023 murder of a Paraíba police officer, was killed during a confrontation with police in Bujari, Acre.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/police-kill-suspect-in-paraba-officers-murder-during-acre-operation

### 2026-08-18: Suspect in Paraíba police officer's death dies in Acre shootout

A fugitive suspected of killing a Paraíba police officer died in a shootout with police in Acre. Other recent arrests in Brazil include a man wanted for rape and another for a fatal domestic attack.

7 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/police-arrest-fugitives-in-separate-minas-gerais-criminal-cases

### 2026-08-16: Brazil reports multiple criminal arrests and judicial rulings

Multiple criminal cases in Brazil involve arrests for sexual abuse, the extradition of a convicted offender from Japan, and a judicial ruling excluding a murder convict from an inheritance.

17 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/inhapim-court-excludes-murder-convict-from-inheritance

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Cite as: Criminal investigations and arrests in Brazil. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/criminal-investigations-and-arrests-in-brazil