Rio violence spurs drug lord transfer
'Freddy Seashore' moves to cell phone-blocking prison
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Brazilian military police take positions in a Rio de Janeiro slum Monday.
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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) -- Brazilian authorities, facing a wave of violence on the eve of the annual Rio Carnival, on Thursday moved the jailed drug lord believed behind the attacks to a prison in Sao Paolo state.
Luiz Fernando da Costa, who goes by the name of Fernandinho Beira-Mar (Freddy Seashore), was transported by air force plane from Bangu 1 maximum security prison outside Rio to an isolated cell at the high security Presidente Bernardes prison.
More than 30 buses were set on fire or vandalized on Monday and Tuesday and criminals set off home-made bombs and fired shots at shops that ignored their order to remain shut. GloboNews television said seven buses were attacked on Thursday.
The Sao Paolo prison, opened last year, is built to home 160 inmates and possesses a system that blocks cellular phone signals. Beira-Mar had been caught coordinating his criminal operations from inside Bangu 1 by mobile phone.
Sao Paulo state penitentiary secretary Nagashi Furukawa said Beira-Mar, who heads the feared Red Command gang, had been transferred for a period of 30 days.
The federal government was expected to decide later on Thursday whether to grant a request by Rio state Gov. Rosinha Matheus for 3,000 federal troops to protect the Carnival, which starts on Friday and draws hordes of tourists.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
