A former Brazilian military officer, convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to over 200 years in prison in his home country, was arrested in the Atlantic seacoast town of Rye, NH on Aug. 14.
Antonio Jose De Abreu Vidal Filho, 29, was apprehended by Rye Officers collaborating with the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) unit of the Boston Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Vidal is to remain in ICE custody pending a hearing before a federal immigration judge.
In June, Vidal was convicted of 11 murders, attempted murder, and physical and mental torture.
His crimes were part of a notorious 2015 incident known as the “Curio Massacre.” Vidal was reportedly a military police officer when a fellow officer was gunned down in the coastal city of Fortaleza. Vidal and others then 11 people – suspected killers and others – in the city’s Curio neighborhood. The judge-and-jury action was known as “Chacina do Curio,” or “Curio massacre.”
Following the convictions, he was sentenced to 275 years and 11 months in prison.
Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh detailed Vidal’s arrest, revealing that agents had been observing him while he worked on a local construction project.
The arrest, which took place at 7 a.m. on Monday, was executed without incident.
An Interpol Red Notice had been issued for Vidal due to his involvement in the massacre. The details of how he managed to escape Brazil and surface in New Hampshire remain unclear. – Newport Dispatch