Brazil arrests ‘Colorido,’ PCC drug gang’s No. 2 leader

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Brazil arrests ‘Colorido,’ PCC drug gang’s No. 2 leader

9:45 CAT | 18 Apr 2022

Image: Jornal da Cidade Online

Brazil’s justice ministry said on Sunday that federal police had captured the No. 2 leader of the First Capital Command (PCC), the country’s most powerful prison gang and a major exporter of cocaine.

Valdeci Alves dos Santos, known as Colorido, was captured on Saturday in the northeastern town of Salgueiro, the justice ministry said. It said he had been on the run since 2014 and was on its list of most wanted criminals. He is one of the main suppliers of drugs to Brazil’s southeast, the ministry said.

Born in the prisons of Sao Paulo state, the PCC has become one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the Americas, responsible for moving drugs from South American producer nations to supply consumer markets in Brazil and Europe.

Much of the top leadership has been in prison for years; Colorido was the gang’s No. 2 among those still living in liberty, the ministry said.

In 2020, PCC trafficker Gilberto Aparecido dos Santos, aka “Fuminho,” was captured in Mozambique, in a sign of the gang’s growing international footprint. He had been on the run for more than 20 years until his capture in Maputo.

ALSO READ: Mozambique: “Fuminho” controlled the local and South African drug market – Carta

🔗🚨Um dos líderes PCC é preso em ação integrada da PRF e PF.

A prisão ocorreu durante a Operação Semana Santa, na BR 116, no município de Salgueiro/PE. O “Colorido”, é considerado o segundo no comando da facção e estava foragido desde 2014. pic.twitter.com/B5RT56dR1a

— PRF 191 PE (@PRF191PE) April 17, 2022

🤝 A ação contou com a participação da Polícia Federal do Paraná, do Mato Grosso do Sul e do Rio Grande do Norte, via Força-Tarefa de Mossoró/RN. Ainda, contou com a atuação de Policiais Rodoviários Federais no momento da abordagem e detenção.

— Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública (@JusticaGovBR) April 17, 2022