This is the moment police officers on motorbikes and in a patrol car chase a 12-year-old boy as he speeds down the road in a stolen van.

The officers eventually managed bring the tearaway youngster to a halt and arrest him in the Brazilian city of Sao Vicente on Thursday, 2nd August.

According to the police, the crime took place in the neighbouring city of Praia Grande at around 8.45 pm.

Some police officers happened to be on patrol at the time when they caught sight of the vehicle breaking the speed limit.

The police tracked the van and found out it had been stolen from a supermarket in the city. Police officers then began pursuing the vehicle with motorbikes and a patrol car.

Footage filmed by bystanders shows the van taking a dangerously fast and bumpy ride as it whizzes over speed bumps down residential roads in the underage driver’s attempt to evade capture.

However, his attempt was unsuccessful, and following his arrest, he told the cops he had received a sum of money to bring the vehicle to Sao Vicente.

However, he did not specify how much he had earned, where he planned to leave the vehicle, or who had paid him.

The police have registered the case as theft and have notified the Juvenile Court and the Child Protective Services of the incident. The boy’s name was not divulged.

Gang members in Brazil are known to recruit children to commit crimes because their prison sentences are shorter.