HomeNewsBriefBrazil's Biggest Gang Planning Kingpin's Paraguay Prison Break: Police
BRIEF

Brazil's Biggest Gang Planning Kingpin's Paraguay Prison Break: Police

BRAZIL / 4 OCT 2017 BY PARKER ASMANN EN

Brazil's largest and most powerful criminal organization is allegedly plotting to free a prominent drug trafficker currently jailed in Paraguay, raising questions about the extent of the trafficker's ties to the powerful gang.

Brazil's federal police warned authorities in Paraguay that the First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital - PCC) may be trying to rescue Jarvis Chimenes Pavão from a Paraguay prison, ABC Color reported on October 2.

Security forces in Brazil reportedly intercepted communications between various PCC members discussing a plan to attack the facility where Pavão is being held in order to free him.

Pavão is currently nearing the end of an eight-year jail sentence for money laundering and criminal association after being arrested in Paraguay in 2009. He is set to be extradited in December to Brazil, where he faces an additional 17 years and eight months in prison for drug trafficking.

SEE ALSO: PCC News and Profile

According to ABC Color, authorities in Paraguay have implemented a series of security measures in response to the warning, including seizing a number of cell phones from detained PCC members allegedly operating under Pavão's command. 

The military is also conducting night flights in helicopters over the penitentiary, and concrete barricades and fire trucks have been installed at the penitentiary's entrance to thwart a possible direct attack, according to ABC Color. 

This is not the first time that reports have surfaced about possible plans to free Pavão. In July 2017, police in Paraguay identified an escape plan that reportedly involved rescuing Pavão by helicopter. 

Earlier this year, the PCC was blamed for a violent and sophisticated "commando-style heist" on a secure transport company in Paraguay, suggesting the gang has the technical capability and resources to carry out a similar operation aimed at freeing Pavão.

InSight Crime Analysis 

Reports that the PCC may be planning a jailbreak for Pavão suggest that the long-time drug trafficker and Brazil's biggest gang may have formed an alliance aimed at consolidating control over the important drug trafficking hub of Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay -- Pavão's traditional stronghold.

Indeed, Pavão has continued to run a powerful criminal network despite being behind bars. His organization is suspected of involvement in a violent turf war in the Brazil-Paraguay border region, which included the 2016 murder of rival drug trafficker Jorge Rafaat Toumani. Brazilian authorities suspect the slaying was ordered by the PCC.

Numerous reports have already surfaced suggesting the PCC is engaged in a campaign of regional expansion throughout South America, including in Paraguay. And allying with Pavão, who appears to have significant control over the hotly contested Brazil-Paraguay border area, could help the group expand its role in the regional drug trade.

SEE ALSO: Brazil News and Profiles

However, the reports of the planned jailbreak suggest the PCC may be worried that their potential partner will not be able to run his organization as easily from a Brazilian prison as he has been able to do in Paraguay.

Indeed, Pavão's legal team has expressed concerns about his impending extradition to Brazil, alleging that he is going there simply "to die." Moreover, a high-ranking police official in Paraguay allegedly heard from his counterparts in Brazil that Pavão "would not last more than six months in a Brazilian jail."

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BRAZIL / 16 MAR 2022

Rocco Morabito’s story has all the makings of a great film script. The Italian mob, tons of cocaine, exotic destinations,…

BRAZIL / 8 APR 2022

Residents of Brazil's largest open-air drug market may have permanently relocated amidst renewed police interventions and the possible orders of…

BRAZIL / 2 DEC 2022

Illegal gold mining in the remote Ecuadorian province of Napo has grown at a staggering rate. Environmental crime has grown…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…