Brazil's Federal Police arrested on Thursday members of a gang allegedly led by an imprisoned drug lord.
The drug lord, Luis Fernando da Costa, also known as Fernandinho Beira-Mar, was one of the biggest drug dealers and arms smugglers in Latin America, and he continued to lead the traffic of drugs and arms in Rio's slums following his arrest in 2001, police said.
Those 24 arrested included Beira-Mar's wife, who was also his lawyer, and some of his relatives, the police said, adding that they were accused of drug trafficking, money laundering, murder and arms smuggling, among others.
Three hundred policemen participated in the operation and made arrests in four states, confiscating suspected drug money, drugs and weapons of the gang group.
Beira-Mar's wife Jcqueline Alcantara de Morais was charged withcoordinating her husband's business outside prison. The police found 200,000 U.S. dollars with her during the operation.
Her brother, Ronaldo de Morais, 37, was also arrested by the police in western Brazil, where Beira-Mar was imprisoned. He was accompanied by the drug lord's son, Felipe Alexandre, 21, who was released because there were no charges against him.
The police seized 130,000 dollars and 25,000 reais in cash in a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro's metropolitan region, where Beira-Mar was born.
In the operation, the police also found a note with phone numbers and names of people related to Beira-Mar in a maximum-security prison in Parana state.
Source:Xinhua
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