Brazil: Police Arrest Cocaine Kingpin Wanted for 3 Decades
Authorities say Luiz Carlos da Rocha had undergone plastic surgery in his efforts to dodge capture.
Officials believe da Rocha, who was living under the name Vitor Luiz de Moraes, is the head of a massive international cocaine empire.
Authorities say the cocaine da Rocha produced in the jungles of Bolivia, Colombia and Peru was distributed in the United States and Europe. Officials say da Rocha was also one of the main cocaine suppliers to the notoriously violent drug dealers in Brazil’s Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Police seized $10 million worth of da Rocha’s property, including luxury cars, aircraft, farms and other real estate, in several raids. The police, however, believe that da Rocha’s personal assets are worth at least $100 million and will seek them in the second phase of the operation against the drug kingpin.