The former Brazil striker Adriano has been charged over alleged links to a notorious drug lord in Rio de Janeiro.
Adriano, 32, is accused of providing a motorbike for a drug dealer which was then used in criminal activities – allegations which first emerged in 2010, and which he denies.
He is accused of buying the motorbike in 2008 and registering it in the name of the mother of a known dealer, Paulo Rogério de Souza Paz, known as Mica. The bike was later used for trafficking in Vila Cruzeiro, a Rio favela then controlled by the Comando Vermelho gang.
Adriano, who played for clubs including Internazionale, Parma, Fiorentina and Roma, had his career cut short by a series of off-field problems, but had been negotiating a comeback with the French Ligue 2 club Le Havre.
Adriano’s spokesperson said that officials had not formally presented the player with the charges and he had no knowledge of them.
Adriano, who is in Le Havre, will only face trial if a judge decides there is merit to the accusations.
Brazilian media quoted the prosecution report as arguing that Adriano “freely and knowingly collaborated with the activity of the drug traffickers in Vila Cruzeiro, in order to facilitate trafficking of illicit illegal substances”.
