RIO DE JANEIRO: A suspected drug trafficker known as the “Pablo Escobar of Brazil,“ was arrested in Hungary on Tuesday after more than a year on the run, police in the South American country said.
Sergio Roberto de Carvalho, known simply as “Mayor Carvalho,“ was arrested in cooperation with Interpol and Hungarian police, Brazil’s Federal Police said in a statement, describing him as “one of the biggest international traffickers today.”
According to Brazilian media, Carvalho is a former policeman who has long lived in Europe under a false identity.
He was arrested in Spain but after posting bail, faked his death of Covid-19 in 2020 and disappeared from the radar, TV Globo reported last year.
The police statement said more than 500 million reais (some $100 million) have been seized from the criminal organization Carvalho was said to lead.
The organization is accused of smuggling tons cocaine to Europe via Brazil and laundering the proceeds. — AFP
