Lent.az
Football referee Ederson Carlos da Silva was arrested during an amateur game in Guaruja, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
According to Lent.az, citing foreign media, police arrested the football referee on the field seconds after showing a yellow card to a player. As the referee turned to the sideline, police in bulletproof vests ran onto the field, handcuffed him, and took him away in front of the astonished looks of players and fans.
Previously, the Brazilian court issued an arrest warrant for 38-year-old da Silva, who is suspected of involvement in drug trafficking. The investigation was triggered by the seizure of 450 kilograms of cocaine in Sao Paulo. As the criminal chain was uncovered, it was determined that the football referee was responsible for the logistics of the prohibited substance throughout the state of Sao Paulo.
"Da Silva used several houses rented by the criminal organization to store drugs, which were then distributed from those houses. According to the information we have, he worked as a foreman in the company. We had no information that he was refereeing football games," said Eduardo Camargo Lima, spokesman for the Department for the Prevention and Combat of Illicit Drug Trafficking.
