Brazilian police have arrested five officers accused of plotting a coup which included plans to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections and assassinate President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, authorities reported.

According to the investigation, the coup plotters also planned to kill Vice President Geraldo Alcmin and Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes. Brazilian media reported that the five arrested included four military personnel and a police officer.

Police said that five arrest warrants have been executed, as well as three search and seizure warrants, along with other measures such as confiscating the suspects’ passports and preventing communication with others.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who authorized the arrests, said that the police investigation revealed that the coup plot involved soldiers trained in the army’s special forces and a retired high-ranking official.

Earlier this year, two senior Brazilian military commanders informed the police that former President Jair Bolsonaro had presented them with a plan to retain power following his loss in the 2022 election. 

However, both refused and warned him that they would arrest him if he attempted to implement the plan, according to court documents released in March.

Prosecutors are trying to find links between Bolsonaro and the January 8, 2023, riots that destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brasilia, a week after Lula was sworn in. 

The country’s president was informed of the warrants early Tuesday morning, according to media reports in Brazil, but has yet to comment on the police operation.

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