Goiás Prosecutors Charge Two Military Police Officers With Executing PCC Informant and Two Mechanics

Overview

• Goiás state prosecutors filed the charges on Tuesday, April 28, accusing Lt. Col. Edson Luís Souza Melo, known as Coronel Raiado, and Maj. Renyson Castanheira Silva of killing pilot Felipe Ramos Morais and two aircraft mechanics in 2023.
• The indictment says autopsies and a forensic report show the victims were shot in the back, with two struck on an upward trajectory consistent with being face down on the ground.
• Prosecutors allege the scene was staged, citing the removal of 12 of 15 shell casings, bodies moved from their original positions, and guns attributed to the victims found fully loaded on a truck’s back seat.
• A geolocation analysis of police vehicles flagged gaps in the officers’ timeline and indicated an unjustified delay in calling emergency medical services.
• Morais was a key witness in federal cases on PCC money laundering with a plea deal of 36 annexes, and his death preceded the annulment of Operation Rei do Crime; the defense says a prior inquiry found self-defense, and the PM reported it had not been notified of the court’s decision on the new filing.