Former player Ronaldinho Gaúcho, 39, and his brother Roberto Assis, 49, are being investigated in Paraguay on suspicion of using false documents to enter the country.
The information was released on Wednesday night (4), initially by local newspapers, such as La Nación and ABC Color, and later confirmed by Paraguayan authorities.
At around 9:00 pm, members of the National Police, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Public Prosecutor's Office went to the suite where they were staying, at the Yacht and Golf Club hotel, in Lambaré, near Asunción. There, they claimed to have found fake Paraguayan passports and identity cards in the names of Ronaldinho and Assis.
They stayed overnight in the hotel, in custody, and went to the headquarters of the Prosecutor's Office against Organized Crime to testify on Thursday morning (5). The documents were seized, as well as cell phones.
"A hearing is currently taking place, where everything will certainly be resolved," the former player's lawyer, Sérgio Queiroz, told Folha.
According to Commissioner Gilberto Fleitas' report to the ABC Color newspaper, the authorities were aware that Brazilian citizens entered the country with Paraguayan documents, which drew attention. Authorities got in contact with the identification department, and no records of his data were found in the system, which prompted the search in the hotel.
Fleitas said on Thursday to ABC Cardinal radio that Ronaldinho and Assis said they had received the false documents from businessman Wilmondes Sousa Lira, 45, who was detained at the police investigation headquarters.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon