A Brazilian TV host and former legislator accused of orchestrating killings to boost his ratings has gone missing — just as police sought to arrest him.

Authorities said they cannot find Wallace Souza and have staked out roads and an airport in Manaus, the capital city of the Amazonas region where he had, until recently, served as a state legislator.

The arrest warrant for Souza includes charges of drug trafficking, gang formation and weapons possession.

Under investigation

Brazilian police officials have investigated the 51-year-old Souza for several months over allegations that he and his son arranged five killings to increase the ratings for his crime show Canal Livre.

The show drew attention for capturing graphic, grisly footage of crime scenes — apparently even before police officers had arrived on scene, investigators said.

Souza has yet to be charged, but his son was jailed in August on charges of homicide, drug trafficking and illegal gun possession.

Before his disappearance, Souza had denied the allegations and claimed that his political opponents were trying to smear his reputation.

Last week, the Amazon region's state assembly expelled him from his post, thus eliminating his parliamentary immunity.