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Federal police detained Márcio Canella, a former mayor of Belford Roxo and a state deputy-elect, along with Marcus Amim, who previously led Rio de Janeiro's Civil Police, on Thursday morning, according to O GLOBO. Four other civil police officers were also taken into custody.
The arrests form part of the eighth phase of Operation Unha e Carne, with warrants issued by Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Investigators say the operation targets a criminal organization suspected of running a network of fuel stations in the Rio metropolitan area as a vehicle for money laundering.
Citing a Financial Intelligence Report from the Council for Financial Activities Control (Coaf) sent to the Federal Police, O GLOBO reports that the alleged scheme moved more than R$ 7.6 billion over the past six years.
Why it matters
The detentions reach two figures who have held prominent positions in Rio de Janeiro's public life — one a recently elected state lawmaker who drew one of the largest vote totals in the state, the other a career delegate who once sat atop the state's civil police force.
Canella's arrest comes weeks after he won a seat in the Legislative Assembly with more than 197,000 votes, making him the second-highest vote-getter for the chamber, according to O GLOBO. Amim, for his part, has occupied some of the most senior security posts in Rio state government, including command of the Civil Police Secretariat and the state traffic department, Detran-RJ.
The case also carries institutional weight: the warrants were signed by a sitting STF minister, placing the investigation at the federal level rather than with state authorities.
How the arrests unfolded
Canella was taken into custody at the condominium where he lives in Barra da Tijuca, in Rio's southwestern zone, O GLOBO reports. He left his home in a white T-shirt, shielded by an umbrella despite clear weather, and was placed in a Federal Police vehicle, the outlet reported. A convoy of three cars arrived shortly before 9 a.m., and he was driven to the Federal Police superintendent's headquarters at Praça Mauá in the city center.
Amim was arrested in Icaraí, in the neighboring city of Niterói, where he resides. He arrived at the Federal Police headquarters at 8:34 a.m., according to O GLOBO.
The four other detainees were identified as Christiano Gaspar Fernandes, Giovanni Gaspar Fernandes, José Carlos Alves de Souza Júnior and Pablo Jukia Felix Ferreira, who is also known as Pablo Russo. All four are police officers, O GLOBO reports.
What investigators say about the alleged scheme
The operation's stated aim is to dismantle a criminal organization that, according to authorities, used a chain of gas stations across the Rio metropolitan region as a platform for laundering money. The Coaf intelligence report cited by O GLOBO puts the total moved through the alleged operation at over R$ 7.6 billion across six years — a figure that, if confirmed, would rank among the largest financial flows attributed to a single scheme in recent Rio investigations.
The Federal Police have not released further details on the specific charges each detainee may face. O GLOBO's reporting describes the operation as the eighth phase of Unha e Carne, indicating a probe that has unfolded in multiple stages over time.
A political dimension
Canella's electoral standing adds a layer of political sensitivity to the case. Coverage of the arrest by CBN noted that his earlier Senate candidacy had received support from Flávio Bolsonaro, a detail that situates the detention within Rio's broader political landscape. CNN Brasil reported that Canella was the second most-voted state deputy in Rio.
Amim's career trajectory similarly places him near the center of the state's security apparatus. His appointment to lead the Civil Police was, according to O GLOBO, the product of behind-the-scenes political maneuvering involving Bacellar — a detail the outlet flagged in its profile of the delegate.
Neither man has been convicted. Under Brazilian law, detainees are presumed innocent until a final judgment is reached, and the investigation remains ongoing.
What to watch
Further phases of Operation Unha e Carne are possible, and the Federal Police have not indicated whether additional arrests are planned. What happens next will likely depend on the evidence presented to the STF and on how the courts handle the cases against Canella, Amim and the four officers.
