Football star Ronaldinho, brother arrested over fake passport claims

Former Brazilian football star Ronaldinho and his brother were arrested in Asuncion, after entering the country on fake passports.

Gilberto Fleitas, the head of the Paraguayan police, said Ronaldinho and his brother, were taken into custody despite the prosecutor’s proposal on Thursday.

“The Attorney General’s office issued a warrant for their arrest, charged the player Ronaldinho with using a public document with false content and requested preventative detention,” the ministry tweeted.

Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto de Assis Moreira had finished a court appearance and left the Palace of Justice Friday night.

However, less than two hours later, they got into a closed van at the National Police headquarters.

The brothers’ lawyer, Adolfo Marin, said he did not understand why they had been arrested.

“We don’t know under what authority they were arrested,” Adolfo Marin told.

The brothers had been questioned for more than seven hours by the public prosecutor in Asuncion.

Prosecutor Federico Delfino said he had decided not to pursue charges against the pair, as they “contributed relevant information to the investigation” and were acting in “good faith” in receiving the falsified Paraguayan documents.

Ronaldinho had been invited to the Paraguayan capital by a foundation for needy children, and to promote his new book.

The former two-time world player of the year and his brother were detained on Wednesday at their hotel.

Their fake documents were detected upon arrival at the Asuncion international airport.

According to the investigating officer, Ronaldinho was given a fake passport by Brazilian businessman Wilmondes Sousa Lira, who has been arrested.