Former Brazil Health Ministry official arrested in Senate

Former Logistics Director of the Ministry of Health, Roberto Ferreira Dias, attends a meeting of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee (CPI) to investigate government actions and management during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at the Federal Senate in Brasilia, Brazil July 7, 2021. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Drama erupted in Brazil's Congress on Wednesday as a former Health Ministry official was arrested under the orders of the lawmaker leading a Senate inquiry into the government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

Roberto Dias had been a logistics director at the Health Ministry but was fired last week after he was accused of asking for a bribe in the procurement of the Indian COVID-19 shot Covaxin. He has denied the accusation.