OAN’s Abril Elfi
2:20 PM – Friday, August 18, 2023
Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston have arrested a Brazilian immigrant who was previously convicted in connection to a 2015 Brazilian massacre.
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On Monday, 29-year-old Antonio Jose De Abreu Vidal Filho was arrested in New Hampshire by members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ERO.
According to officials, in June of this year, Vidal, who was a former Brazilian military officer, was convicted of 11 murders, as well as charged with attempted murder and physical and mental torture. He was also reportedly sentenced to 275 years and 11 months in prison.
Along with Vidal, three other officers were charged in connection with the mass murder that happened in November 2015 in Brazil, also known as the “Curio Massacre.”
Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh stated that the suspect was working on a construction project at a property, and agents had been stalking him out.
Officers reportedly arrived at the construction site at 7:00 a.m. on Monday and took him into custody.
“This was a long-range operation,” Walsh said. “We’ve been going on for some time. And like I said, the federal agency – which are our partners, and we’d like to help them as well as they like to help us – had a well-thought-out methodical plan on how to take this person to custody and where is the best location to do it, and when is the time.”
Co-workers of the former military officer stated that they could not believe what they were seeing when he got arrested. One of the workers, Sammy Johnson said that they all knew him as Tony.
“He seemed like a really nice guy,” Johnson said. “It just goes to show you that in this world, you can never judge a book by its cover, right?”
It is unclear how Vidal got into the United States, but it is reported by Brazilian press that the foreign national illegally entered the country in 2019 and was living with his wife trying to start a new life.
Interpol had an active Code Red Alert out for the 29-year-old following his conviction this year.
Vidal will remain in ICE custody while he awaits trial.
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