Brazil police conduct searches targeting intelligence agency’s use of tracking software

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Brazil conducted searches and made two arrests in an investigation targeting members of the country’s intelligence agency who were suspected of using spy technology to track cellphones without judicial authorization. Brazilian media reported that officials at the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, which is known by its Portuguese acronym ABIN, allegedly used the GPS-based software during the first three years of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration to monitor the phones of his opponents, journalists and lawmakers. O Globo newspaper reported in March about the alleged illegal use of the FirstMile software. The newspaper didn’t disclose the source of its information. The Federal Police declined a request for comment by The Associated Press.