A Brazilian businessman, linked to one of the most powerful criminal groups in the country, has been shot dead at the Guarulhos airport, in São Paulo.

Antônio Vinicius Gritzbach had recently reached a plea deal with local prosecutors to provide information about the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), or First Capital Command.

As a result, he received death threats from the gang, local media report.

Three other people were injured in the attack, and images online show the aftermath. Police said officers had been deployed in and around the airport.

The moment two hooded men got out of a car with machine guns and started shooting outside the airport terminal was captured on a security camera.

Gritzbach, a former member of the PCC, dropped his bag and tried to flee, but was shot several times and died at the scene.

Gritzbach, a cryptocurrency expert, had been telling officials how he helped the group launder millions of dollars.

Brazilian media reports suggest he was once considered a key player in the gang’s operation.

As part of his plea deal, Gritzbach had promised to help investigators locate other members and turn over documents.

In exchange, São Paulo prosecutors would have offered Gritzbach a judicial pardon and a reduction in his sentence for money laundering.

The PCC was formed in the early 1990s and has become one of the most feared drug gangs in Brazil. However, its members are not limited to Latin America.

Last year, a report by security services in Portugal suggested the group had 1,000 associates in the European country’s capital, Lisbon.

The São Paulo organized crime task force estimated in 2023 that the PCC makes almost $1 billion (£773,000) from international cocaine trafficking.