Brazilian drug dealer dresses up as daughter to escape prison

A masked Rio de Janeiro inmate dressed as a woman tried to break out of a Brazilian jail this weekend, in a surreal act of derring-do, only to be thwarted on the cusp of freedom by state prison authorities.

Clauvino da Silva, a drug dealer from the city of Angra dos Reis, was caught by prison guards at the Bangu jail complex in Rio state on Saturday, as he tried to exit via the front door after visiting hours.

Handout picture released by prison officials showing a mask, a wig, and the clothes used by Clauvino da Silva. Reuters

The Rio state prison authority said his plan was to leave his daughter inside the prison in his place.

In a video released by prison authorities, he is seen wearing an eerie plastic mask, a long black wig, glasses and women’s clothes, including a bra.

As prison officials make him take off his elaborate disguise, he eventually appears in the flesh, wearing a sullen expression.

Rio’s prison authority said his daughter and seven other people were arrested on suspicion of having tried to help him escape. Silva, meanwhile, was moved to the Laércio da Costa Pelegrino jail unit, and will face punishment, it added.

Brazil’s prisons have become a major headache for new President Jair Bolsonaro, who has vowed to crack down on years of growing crime and violence.

Clauvino da Silva dressed as a woman is pictured at the Bangu jail complex,Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Reuters

Last week, an official said that forty-six inmates involved in one of Brazil’s deadliest prison riots were being transferred to other jails.

Inmates involved in the fighting, including 16 leaders suspected of ordering the riot, were transported by bus or plane to detention facilities, including federal prisons, in the capital Belem, an official from the state government’s penitentiary department said. Most of the bodies were recovered from the jail, she said.

Experts estimate hundreds of prisoners are killed in Brazilian prisons every year, mostly in confrontations between rival gangs battling for control of one of the world’s most important cocaine markets and trafficking routes.

Agencies