From time to time, we’ll get a call from a concerned family member or friend about someone who’s detained in Brazil. For whatever reason, they were apprehended by the Brazilian police and are now in urgent need of a lawyer.

The immediate challenge is finding them. And to find them, you have to know who has them. But this question is never easily answered.

Like the United States, Brazil has numerous law enforcement agencies. There’s the polícia militar (military police), polícia federal (federal police), polícia civil (civil police), and a few others. Until you know what agency has custody of the person, it’s nearly impossible to locate them.

Many arrests involving foreigners occur in the airport right after arrival or before departure. No matter if it’s related to immigration issues, narcotics, or some other reason, an arrest at an international airport means the federal police will have jurisdiction.

Of course, you’ll also need to know the city and state where the arrest occurred. Unfortunately, there isn’t a single publicly available national database that can be searched to find arrests or court filings. So it’s imperative that you get as much information as possible and pass it along to any lawyer you plan to hire.

Finally, you’ll want to act quickly as detainees are often moved from facility to facility. This makes it that much harder to locate someone. Criminal law matters in Brazil require urgent action. The quicker you move, the better the end result.