'Indications' of Adriano ties to trafficker

Brazilian prosecutors said Wednesday there were ``strong indications'' football star Adriano transferred a large sum of money to a notorious drug lord held responsible for the downing of a police helicopter last year.

State prosecutors said in an e-mailed statement that after taking a deposition from Adriano, they would now request that a judge give them permission to examine data from the player's bank accounts and telephones.

``The Public Ministry considers extremely serious the facts that have made the player a suspect and there are strong indications that he has transferred money to the drug trafficker Fabiano Atanasio da Silva,'' the prosecutor's note read.

Officials are also looking into conspiracy to sell illegal drugs and the possession of unlawful weapons by organized crime groups as part of the investigation - though there was no indication Adriano was involved in those aspects of the case.

Adriano has denied any wrongdoing. He did not speak to the press after talking with prosecutors. After-hours calls to the office of the attorney who accompanied him to the prosecutor's office were not returned.

Adriano has not been charged with any crimes, and it was not clear what charges he could possibly face.

Police say Silva - a leader of the Red Command drug gang - last October ordered his foot soldiers to overtake a rival gang's territory in a nearby slum. As the gangs fought a wild shootout, a police helicopter hovering nearby was shot down and crashed in flames, killing three officers.

That ignited a gang war and saw some 2,000 police invading more than a dozen slums, often triggering shootouts that left at least 40 people dead in less than a week.

Police say Silva, who is not in custody, controls the Vila Cruzeiro slum where Adriano grew up and where he continues to spend time.

Last year, Adriano left Inter Milan, saying he was no longer happy playing football in Italy. He returned to Rio and signed with Flamengo, a team he led to Brazil's national championship last year.

Last week, Adriano announced that he was leaving Flamengo and returning to Italy, where he said he would sign with Roma.

It was not clear what impact the investigation would have on those plans.

The note from the prosecutor's office indicated that police had 60 more days to complete the investigation into Adriano's alleged involvement with the trafficker Silva.