The drug trafficker Gilberto dos Santos (better known as “Fuminho”) entered the Brazilian Penitentiary of Catanduvas, the State of Paraná, this Monday (20). He was arrested in Maputo last week and handed over to the Brazilian authorities on Sunday afternoon (19) after an International Cooperation effort involving the governments of Brazil and Mozambique.
“Fuminho” was wanted by the Interpol since 1999 after he escaped from a Brazilian prison. He has connections with one of the main criminal factions in Brazil and is accused of making millions of dollars in cocaine trafficking in South America.
Technically, he was not extradited, but “administratively expelled”. According to a note from Mozambican Interior Minister Amade Miquidade, the grounds for “administrative expulsion” were that he had entered the country illegally. He was traveling on a false passport. The time-consuming procedures inherent to extradition were waived, and “Fuminho” was simply handed over to the Brazilians.
The note adds that Fuminho” is barred from entering Mozambique again “for a period of not less than ten years”. In addition to the fake passport, he was in possession of illegal drugs (100 grams of cannabis) and 15 mobile phones, when arrested.
“This is a mission that reinforces the ideals of international cooperation and the credibility of the Federal Police with other public security institutions in other countries and makes it clear to national or foreign criminals who use Brazil to perpetrate their crimes, that they do not there is a safe place to hide from sanctions for crimes committed “, reveals a note released by the Federal Police of Brazil.
“The operation and its positive results confirm the importance of the joint efforts of two governments that do not fight organized crime”, says a joint note from the three Brazilian Ministries – Justice and Public Security, Defense and Foreign Affairs.
+ The efforts were supported by the “Drug Enforcement Administration” (DEA), an organ of the United States government that acts against drug trafficking.