SAO PAULO - Brazil's federal police bomb squad are carrying out an operation prompted by reports of a suspected explosive artifact found near the airport of Brasilia, the capital city, according to future justice minister Flavio Dino.
Dino, who will soon begin his position as part of President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government, is overseeing the operation and said on Twitter that Lula's transition team is following the incident.
Lula will be sworn in as president on Jan 1.
"We are following developments on alleged explosive artifact found in Brasilia on Saturday morning. We will have official information soon," Dino said.
"Expert examinations of the artifact, as well as investigations, are being carried out by the Civil Police of the Federal District," he added.
The federal police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Adriano Machado; Writing by Steven Grattan; Editing by Leslie Adler)