Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has dismissed the deputy director of the national intelligence agency and four department heads amidst ongoing investigations into allegations of illegal surveillance on ex-president Jair Bolsonaro's adversaries.

The ousted deputy, Alessandro Moretti, faces accusations of sharing information with former Abin chief Alexandre Ramagem, who is affiliated with Mr. Bolsonaro's political party.

Mr. Bolsonaro alleges that he and his family are victims of persecution. However, Lula has refuted this assertion, stating that his administration does not influence the federal police.

The scandal surfaced when Brazil's Supreme Court revealed documents implicating Abin in the surveillance of key political and judicial figures critical of the former president. Among the purported targets of the unauthorized surveillance were three Supreme Court justices and a lower house speaker.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes disclosed that authorities had identified Carlos Bolsonaro, the son of the former president, as part of the "political nucleus" suspected of orchestrating the illicit spying activities.

The judge authorized raids on Monday on the home and offices of Carlos, a Rio de Janeiro city councilor.

Carlos Bolsonaro's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press news agency.

Last week, police searched the office and home of Mr Ramagem, who has denied wrongdoing, Reuters news agency reports.

Police suspect Abin used Israeli software known as FirstMile to monitor mobile phones illegally.

Veteran leftist Lula narrowly beat Mr Bolsonaro, a far-right politician, in a tense presidential run-off election on 30 October 2022.

This latest probe adds to the legal problems of Mr Bolsonaro, who has been banned from running for office for eight years after casting doubts about Brazil's electronic voting system.

Noted