Brazil: Former Formula One commercial chief arrested for illegal possession of weapon

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Former Formula One commercial chief Bernie Ecclestone was arrested Wednesday night at an airport in the interior of the Brazilian state of São Paulo for illegal possession of a weapon and released after posting bail; police sources said Thursday, May 26.

The head of the world’s top motor racing category for four decades was arrested as he was about to board a private plane at Viracopos airport in the city of Campinas after customs agents found a weapon in his luggage during a check with X-ray equipment.

Ecclestone, 91, admitted that he owned the LWSeecamp 32-caliber pistol found in his suitcase but claimed he did not remember it being in his luggage and had no document identifying him as the owner or bearer of it, according to the Civil Police of São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous state.

The former English sports leader was arrested in flagrante delicto for the crime of illegal carrying of a weapon and taken to the Specialized Police Station for Tourist Assistance at the same airport, where he was interrogated and remained in jail until his representatives paid a bail of R$6,000 (US$1,260).

The former Formula One boss affirmed that he bought the gun irregularly from a mechanic of the category in São Paulo about five years ago and that he kept it on the farm he owns in Amparo, a municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, where he grows coffee.

After being released and committing himself to come to Brazil every time Justice determines to respond to the respective investigation, Ecclestone was authorized to board a private flight to Switzerland.

The former leader regularly visits Brazil because, since 2012, he has been married to Brazilian Fabiana Flosi, whose mother, Aparecida Schunck Flosi Palmeira, was kidnapped in 2016 by criminals who wanted Ecclestone to pay a ransom, but the Civil Police managed to locate her whereabouts in a municipality in the metropolitan area of São Paulo and rescue her.

In his last stay, Ecclestone arrived in Brazil in early May and participated in several Brazilian motorsport events accompanied by his wife. She is vice-president for South America of the International Automobile Federation (FIA).

The leader commanded all commercial affairs of Formula One until January 2017, when the rights over the category were acquired by the American company Liberty Media, which replaced him with the English Ross Brawn in sports affairs and the American Sean Bratches in commercial matters.

Ecclestone, a former used-car salesman in England, began his motor racing career in the 1950s when he founded his own team to try to compete in the 1958 Formula One season as a driver of a Connaught car.

As he failed to qualify, he preferred to act as an entrepreneur and took over as representative of Austrian driver Jochen Rindt and as a partner of the Lotus B-team in Formula One.

With information from EFE