Drug Kingpin Who Changed Face Caught In Brazil

A drug lord who had plastic surgery to
change his appearance has been
captured in Brazil after three decades on
the run.



Luiz Carlos da Rocha, nicknamed White
Head, is one of South America's biggest
cocaine kingpins having reportedly
amassed a personal fortune of $100m
(£77m).



He was arrested in the western state of
Mato Grosso in a city called Sorriso.



Under operation spectrum, 150 agents
carried out 24 raids and seized luxury cars
worth $10m (£7.7m), planes, farms and
other property.



Spectrum refers in Portuguese to the
phantom-like nature of a fugitive "who
lived discreetly and in the shadows...
evading police attempts for almost 30
years", said police.




They said da Rocha had changed his name
to Vitor Luiz de Moraes.



Authorities said that after comparing old
photos of da Rocha's facial characteristics
with an up-to-date ID image of de Moraes,
they concluded they were the same
person.



Da Rocha has convictions totalling more
than 50 years in prison which were
handed down by the federal court.



He allegedly headed up a network that
includes producing cocaine in the jungles
of Bolivia, Colombia and Peru and
distributing it on the continent as well as
the US and Europe.




Police said cocaine was flown in small
planes from manufacturing sites via
Venezuelan airspace to remote farms in
western Brazil.



From there it was shipped in secret
compartments in specially adapted lorries
to Brazil's big cities or to be moved
abroad.



During the operation to find da Rocha, his
alleged right-hand man was also arrested.