Imagine that! Beatlemania in Brazil as police arrest three John Lennons

Imagine all the people: three young men named after the Beatles star have been arrested in separate incidents in Brazil (Getty Images)

Police officers in Brazil have been left scratching their heads after not one, but three criminals called John Lennon have been arrested in recent weeks - and another John Lennon has been found dead.

All of the arrests have occurred in the capital of Minas Gerais state, Belo Horizonte.

Late last year, police arrested John Lennon Camargos Gomes, 22, for five murders and two attempted murders. Earlier this year on January 8, John Lennon Fonseca Ferreira, also 22, was busted by police as he allegedly attempted to rob a house. A day later, the body of 19 year old John Lennon Sebastiao da Silva was found in his vehicle, and police suspect he was the victim of a revenge attack.

The latest in the string of strange coincidences was last Friday, when police caught John Lennon Ribeiro Siqueira for allegedly robbing a lottery shop in Belo Horizonte.

They suspect the bizarre trend in criminal activity among Lennons is due to the popularity of the Beatles in Brazil. Shortly after John Lennon's death, fans of the band started naming their children after the British rock star. Now, decades later, many of them are finding themselves on the wrong side of the law.

It isn't all bad news for John Lennons in South America, though - John Lennon Silva Santos, 22, plays for one of Rio de Janeiro's most popular football teams, Botafogo.