Portuguese police arrest two Brazilian fugitives wanted for kidnapping and child sexual abuse

Lisbon arrest on Brazilian child abuse warrant

Officers from the Public Security Police (PSP) detained a 47-year-old foreign national in Lisbon on the afternoon of 16 September 2026. The arrest occurred at 17:45 and was executed by the Fugitives and Missing Persons Unit of the PSP Criminal Investigation Department. Portuguese police carried out the operation in direct compliance with an international arrest warrant issued by Brazilian judicial authorities. Brazilian prosecutors charged the foreign national with the rape of a vulnerable person in relation to sexual abuse offenses committed against his stepdaughter. Judicial records in Brazil establish that the victim was approximately 10 years old at the time of the alleged offenses. Brazilian criminal legislation provides for a maximum penalty of up to 24 years in prison for the specific crimes detailed in the warrant.

Preventative detention ordered by Lisbon Court of Appeal

Following the apprehension in Lisbon, law enforcement officers brought the 47-year-old suspect before the Lisbon Court of Appeal for judicial evaluation. The appellate court decided to apply the coercive measure of preventive detention to the foreign national. Following the court's ruling, the suspect was transferred to a Portuguese penal establishment. He remains in custody at the prison facility while judicial authorities in Lisbon process the international extradition request submitted by Brazil.

Judicial Police arrest in Guarda

In an independent law enforcement operation announced on 19 September 2026, the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) arrested a 33-year-old foreign national in the city of Guarda. Detectives from the PJ Northern Directorate executed the arrest to enforce an outstanding Brazilian judicial penalty requiring the suspect to serve five years in prison.

The PJ detained a 33-year-old foreign citizen, wanted by Brazilian authorities to serve a five-year prison sentence for the crime of kidnapping, which occurred in 2017 in Ribeirão das Neves, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

According to the PJ Northern Directorate, the 33-year-old man had taken refuge in Guarda starting in 2022. He relocated to Portugal immediately after learning about the formal indictment that had been filed against him in Brazil.

The 2017 Minas Gerais kidnapping and Coimbra hearing

The criminal conviction in Brazil relates to an abduction that occurred in the municipality of Ribeirão das Neves, located in Minas Gerais. The 33-year-old man was convicted of kidnapping his former romantic partner, who is also the mother of his children. The events began on 22 December 2017, when the victim was invited into her former partner's residence under the pretext of having a conversation. Once inside the property, she was unlawfully deprived of her liberty and held captive until 24 December 2017.

Following his arrest by the PJ in Guarda, the 33-year-old detainee was scheduled for presentation before the Coimbra Court of Appeal. The judges at the Coimbra appellate court will evaluate the case to impose coercive measures with a view toward his formal extradition to Brazil.