Renato Cariani Crack Controversy / Brazilian Walter White

Overview

Renato Cariani Crack Controversy refers to a controversy involving the Brazilian fitness model and businessman Renato Cariani, in which Brazil's Federal Police raided his home in December 2023 because of his business connections with a company being investigated for drug ties. The company's materials were allegedly diverted to drug dealers, who used the materials to produce cocaine and crack. The news became a trending topic on social media and some people started calling him the Brazilian Walter White, as he was a chemistry teacher at the beginning of his career.

Background

On December 12th, 2023, Brazil's Federal Police initiated the "Hinsberg Operation,"^[1] which investigates the diversion of chemicals for drug production. The main target would be the company Anidrol, whose fitness influencer Renato Cariani is one of the associates. On the same day, the Brazilian news channel SBT News^[2] uploaded a video (shown below) about the controversy, which amassed over 377,000 views and 10,000 likes in a day.

The video above details that, in total, 12 tons of chemicals were diverted, with an approximate value of BRL 6 million (approximately 1.3 million USD). Phenacetin, acetone, ethyl ether, hydrochloric acid, mannitol and ethyl acetate are on the list of components, the use of which would correspond to the refining and adulteration of 19 tons of crack and cocaine.

Developments

After the search and seizure of Cariani's house, the bodybuilder influencer posted a statement on his Instagram^[3] page, talking about his company, which is one of those being investigated for diverting chemicals to produce drugs. The post amassed 1.3 million likes in a day.

“Guys, I'm coming here to clarify for you, after all, there's so much news going around, so many messages and I need to share with you what really happened. Well, in the morning I was surprised by the execution of a search and seizure warrant by the police at my house, where I was informed that not only my company, but several companies are being investigated in a process…”

Online Reactions

As the search and seizure became a trending topic on the internet, users started to share jokes and memes about the bodybuilder. For instance, on December 12th, 2023, X^[4] user @rodolpho joked about Cariani's situation saying he was a long-time Cariani customer and was surprised to discover he was also a fitness model and not just a drug dealer. The post (shown below, left) garnered more than 20,000 likes and 846 retweets in a day. On the same day, X^[5] user @cleytxnn compared the Brazilian with Walter White from the Breaking Bad TV show, which amassed more than 39,000 likes and 5,900 retweets in a day. (shown below, right)

On December 12th, 2023, jokes about Cariani's fitness products being filled with cocaine and crack became the subject of memes on X. For instance, X^[6] user @comunadememes posted a video (shown below) of a man doing an extreme workout routine paired with the caption "Me at the gym after taking Cariani's pre-workout:" The post amassed more than 478,000 views and 12,000 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References