RIO DE JANEIRO (BDCi) – A former Brazilian and international soccer player has been charged with links to a drug lord in Rio de Janeiro.
According to prosecutors, Adriano gave a drug dealer a motorbike that was used for criminal activities.
Adriano had bought the bike in 2008 and registered it under the name of a known drug dealer’s mother, Paulo Rogério de Souza Paz, also known as Mica.
The bike was used to traffic drugs in one of Rio’s favelas, then controlled by the powerful crime gang Comando Vermelho (Red Command).
Adriano, now 32, denied the allegations when they first emerged in 2010.
His successful career in Italy, during which he won titles with Inter MIlan, was cut short due to injuries and off-field issues.
He had been negotiating a comeback with the second division French club team Le Havre.