Man convicted of 11 murders in Brazil massacre arrested working at Rye, NH home

RYE — An on-the-run Brazilian recently convicted for 11 murders in a 2015 massacre was working on a job site at a Locke Road home when he was arrested this week, according to Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh.

Antonio Jose De Abreu Vidal Filho, 29, a former Brazilian military police officer, was arrested in Rye, a Seacoast New Hampshire town, Monday, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Vidal Filho, a Sao Luis, Brazil native for whom Interpol issued a red notice on charges of murder, attempted murder, physical torture and mental torture, was convicted in June in a Brazilian criminal court.

He was sentenced to 275 years and 11 months in prison for his involvement in the November 2015 “Curio Massacre” in Brazil. The 11 murders occurred in the Curio neighborhood in the city of Fortaleza, according to ICE.

Vidal Filho was convicted by a criminal court in Brazil, along with three other military police officers, for the slaying of 11 people, three attempted homicides and torture in the poor suburbs of Fortaleza, the capital of the Ceara state.

Vidal Filho attended the trial remotely, as he had fled Brazil for the U.S. in 2019, online news site G1 reported.

In total, some 20 police officers are standing trial for the massacre.

What was Vidal doing in Rye, New Hampshire?

Vidal Filho was working at the Rye home on Locke Road, either as as self-employed construction worker or employee of a construction company. The chief said Vidal Filho was not living in Rye at the time of his arrest, but was coming into town for work.

“Based on the intelligence and the operation in place, things were done methodically to make sure exposure to the general public and the neighborhood was limited to ensure the safety of everyone,” Walsh said.

Nobody was present in the home where construction work was occurring, Walsh said. The arrest occurred between 6 and 7 a.m. Monday, he said, and Vidal was taken into custody without incident.

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Rye police joined ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston field office in detaining Vidal Filho, who will remain in ICE custody pending a hearing before a federal immigration judge.

In the agency’s arrest announcement, ICE did not specify how long Vidal Filho had been working in Rye for or where he was residing.

The Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations branch of ICE alerted Rye police of their upcoming operation roughly 24 hours before it occurred, Walsh added.

The Rye police chief credited the department’s relationship with local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

“I trust my federal partners. They’re great at making sure our community stays safe and that’s what their focus and goal was,” he said. “They were accurate with everything and precise.”

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Walsh said he was not aware of anyone in Rye being investigated in connection to Vidal Filho and his presence in the beachside community.

“The apprehension of this very dangerous foreign fugitive is an outstanding example of the professionalism and expertise of the officers of ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) Boston,” Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said in a prepared statement.

According to Interpol, “A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant. The individuals are wanted by the requesting member country, or international tribunal.”

It was not immediately known when Interpol issued the red notice for Vidal Filho.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Man convicted of 11 murders in Brazil arrested at Rye, NH home