The São Paulo court maintained, this Sunday (8), the arrest of one of the suspects involved in the execution of the whistleblower Vinícius Lopes Gritzbach, murdered at Guarulhos International Airport, on November 8. Matheus Soares Brito was arrested in the morning on Saturday (7) and underwent a custody hearing this morning.
The sniper action at the airport left two people dead: Gritzbach and an app driver who was working at the location.
According to the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJSP), no irregularities were found in the execution of the arrest warrant against the boy as a result of “a criminal investigation that is being carried out under judicial secrecy”.
Brito and two other boys were arrested in the early hours of Saturday (7) by the São Paulo police, according to the SSP.
Allan Pereira Soares and Marcos Henrique Soares did not have an arrest warrant issued and were arrested in the act for committing a crime related to carrying a firearm and not for the crime that occurred at Guarulhos airport. However, at a custody hearing, the TJSP considered the arrests of both to be illegal.
“The arrest in the act was relaxed due to illegality, with a request to this effect from the representative of the Public Ministry”, informed the court.
After the arrests, the three suspects were taken to the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP), in the capital of São Paulo, where they were interviewed. “Ammunition and cell phone devices were seized, which will be examined. The investigations remain confidential,” the Public Security Secretariat (SSP) said in a statement.
Airport murder
Vinícius Lopes Gritzbach made a plea agreement with the Public Ministry (MP) of the State of São Paulo in March 2024. The content of the plea bargain is confidential, but, last October, the MP sent excerpts of the document to the Police Internal Affairs Office. , in which the whistleblower denounces civil police officers for extortion. On October 31, he was interviewed at the Internal Affairs Department, eight days before he was killed.
Gritzbach also reported a money laundering scheme used by the criminal group PCC.
