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Brazilian authorities have arrested five individuals linked to a clandestine criminal network allegedly involved in espionage and plotting the assassinations of high-ranking government and judicial officials, federal police said.
The group, which called itself Comando C4—an acronym for “Command for Hunting Communists, Corrupt People, and Criminals”—is reportedly made up of current and former military personnel as well as civilians. According to police, the organization maintained a hit list that included lawmakers and justices of the Supreme Federal Court, complete with price tags for each target.
Police seized printed documents listing the costs associated with surveillance or potential assassinations: 100,000 reais (approximately $17,650) for a federal lawmaker, 150,000 reais ($26,470) for a senator, and 250,000 reais ($44,000) for a Supreme Court justice. Among those named were former Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco and Justices Alexandre de Moraes and Cristiano Zanin.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the payments were intended solely for espionage or for contract killings. However, internal WhatsApp messages obtained by investigators indicate the group had discussed murder plots. The suspects claimed access to intelligence operatives, IT specialists, insiders at Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service, and even military-grade weapons, including silenced rifles and rocket launchers.
The arrests mark a significant development in a broader investigation into the December 2023 murder of lawyer Roberto Zampieri, who was shot dead amid a land dispute in the city of Cuiabá. Police believe the case is connected to a sprawling corruption scheme that reached into Brazil’s judiciary.
Zampieri’s phone reportedly contained messages tying him to negotiations over the buying and selling of court rulings. These messages linked him to judges, lobbyists, businessmen, and notably, Andreson de Oliveira Gonçalves, a political fixer arrested last year and accused of orchestrating a bribery network within Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice.
The criminal scheme allegedly involved court employees, attorneys, businesspeople, and even judges, with bribes exchanged for favorable rulings and leaked information about confidential investigations.
Among those arrested this week was Anibal Manoel Laurindo, a farmer believed to have ordered Zampieri’s killing over a dispute involving a 5,000-hectare tract of land. Also implicated are Antônio Gomes da Silva, the hitman who confessed to the killing; Hedilerson Fialho Martins Barbosa, a shooting instructor; and retired army colonel Etevaldo Luiz Caçadini, who is accused of founding the extremist group.
Colonel Caçadini, now in custody, ran a YouTube channel called Frente Ampla Patriótica, which launched in January and promoted nationalist rhetoric. In one video, he urged “patriots” to “organize and dictate the destiny of our nation,” vowing Brazil’s flag would “never be red.”
The Federal Supreme Court also issued six search-and-seizure warrants and ordered four additional suspects to wear electronic monitoring devices. The warrants were executed in the states of Mato Grosso, SĂŁo Paulo, and Minas Gerais.
The investigation is ongoing.
