Brazilian prosecutor shot dead

The murder of a Sao Paolo mayor shocked Brazilians

By Jan Rocha in Sao Paulo

Gunmen in Brazil have shot dead a public prosecutor, only days after the murder of a left-wing mayor sparked a public outcry at the rise in organised crime.

The prosecutor, Francisco Lins Do Rego, had been investigating alleged price fixing by petrol station owners.

Two men on a motorbike came alongside his car at a crossroads in the centre of Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais state.

The pillion passenger fired point blank at him, killing him instantly.

Drugs probe

Mr Lins Do Rego had also been involved in investigating the suspicious escape of one of Latin America's most notorious drug barons, Fernando Beira Mar, who walked out of prison in Belo Horizonte just a year after being captured in 1997.

The prosecutor asked for powers to investigate the bank accounts of police and prison guards who were on duty at the time.

Beira Mar was later arrested in Colombia and extradited back to Brazil last year.

Friday's shooting comes only a few days after the assassination of Celso Daniels, the mayor of a Sao Paulo suburb.

It has raised fears that Brazil is on the way to becoming as violent a country as Colombia, where the murder of public officials has become commonplace in recent years.