RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian police arrested Beto Richa, the former governor of Paraná, as part of an investigation into wrongdoing involving a government program aimed at bolstering policing in rural areas of the state, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
A representative for Richa, who was running for the Senate in this year's elections, said he was still waiting for guidance from Richa's lawyers before commenting on the matter.
Separately, federal police said in a statement they were serving three arrest warrants in the state capital Curitiba in the latest stage of the sweeping Car Wash corruption probe.
Police suspect that engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL] paid millions in bribes to people in the private and public sector in order to acquire a licence to expand, maintain and operate a state roadway in the state of Paraná, the statement said.
Police also served 33 search-and-seizure warrants in Paraná, São Paulo and Bahia as part of the investigation.
(Reporting by Pedro Fonseca; Writing by Bruno Federowski in Brasília; Editing by Keith Weir)