The leader of the most important paramilitary organization in the State of Rio de Janeiro, who was wanted for various crimes, surrendered to the police on Sunday, as announced by the local authorities.

“Enemy number 1”, as the State authorities described him, Luis Antonio da Silva Braga or “Zinio”, was on the run since 2018.

At least 12 arrest warrants for criminal activity had been issued against him. He turned himself in to the federal police in Rio on Sunday night, was arrested and remanded in custody.

The Minister of Justice and Security, Flavio Dino, expressed his satisfaction, in a post on the X platform, for “another important result of the serious work being done in Rio de Janeiro and other States, to fight against criminal organizations.”

The paramilitary groups operating in Brazil were formed about 40 years ago by ex-policemen, retirees, firefighters or even prison guards, as “self-defense” organizations against drug-trafficking gangs.

Although at first the inhabitants looked favorably on them, extortion, arms trafficking and money laundering soon followed. In recent years they have also been linked to drug trafficking. At the end of October, scenes of chaos unfolded in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, with buses set on fire and a thick cloud of smoke covering the area, showing just how dangerous these paramilitary groups have become to the city and national security.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced in early November that 3,700 troops would be deployed at ports and airports to deal with this “very serious” violence linked to organized crime.