Brazilian police arrested in the southern
city of Porto Alegre two drug traffickers who are allegedly friends with the
football stars Ronaldinho and Anderson, the public prosecutor's office said
Tuesday.
According to the public prosecutor Ricardo Herbstrith, the alleged criminal
Richard Alex da Silva Martins, known as "Gigi," was arrested Monday
at a house belonging to Manchester United midfielder Anderson, dpa reported.
However, Herbstrith noted that the football player was not suspected of
being involved in any way with the drug trade.
"The investigation has nothing to do with Anderson. He is just friends
with the drug traffickers," the public prosecutor was quoted as saying in
the Brazilian media.
Ronaldinho's name in turn came into question following a telephone conversation
held by the Milan player with Anderson and with another drug dealer that was
arrested Monday, Jorge Andre da Silva Fontoura, known as "Nelly."
Anderson's agent, Paulo Tonietto, admitted the player's ties to
"Gigi" and "Nelly," but stressed that the midfielder
committed no crimes.
"Anderson can be friends with whoever he wants, but he is not involved in
crime. He is a serious professional and he will give explanations about what
happened at the appropriate time," Tonietto noted.
The public prosecutor's office insisted that there was no evidence to suggest
that either footballer had ties with the drug trade.
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