Brazil arrests notorious drug kingpin Luiz Carlos da Rocha
Brazilian police have captured a
notorious drug kingpin who used plastic surgery to evade capture for
almost 30 years, authorities say.
Luiz Carlos da Rocha - nicknamed "White Head" - is believed to be the leader of a massive cocaine empire in South America.
Federal police said sentences handed down to Rocha amount to more than 50 years of prison time.
Police said he was "a criminal who lived discreetly and in the shadows".
Rocha was arrested in Sorriso, in the western state of Mato Grosso, on Saturday, a police statement said.
The
drug kingpin had been living in the city under the assumed name Vitor
Luiz de Moraes. Agents compared old known photos of Rocha to the images
of the new suspect, "and concluded that Luiz Carlos da Rocha and Vitor
Luiz are the same person".
Brazilian police said his organisation was known to be violent, making use of armed escorts, armoured cars, and heavy weapons.
It
produced cocaine in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia, before shipping it
through an elaborate logistics system to Europe and the United States.
Luiz
Carlos da Rocha is also accused of being one of the main providers of
cocaine to criminal organisations within Brazil, in Sao Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro.
In total, police estimate his empire produced some five tonnes of cocaine each month.
Operation
Spectrum - the name given to the sting - also seized some $10m (£7.6m)
worth of criminal assets, including farms, other real estate, luxury
vehicles and aircraft.
Officers believe Rocha's wealth is closer
to $100m, and say they will seek to seize the rest of his assets in the
second phase of the operation.
BBC
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