ASUNCION, (APP/AFP) – Paraguayan authorities
got a surprise when they raided a Brazilian drug lord’s jail cell…
and found a three-room luxury suite complete with library, kitchen, conference room and plasma TV.
Jarvis Chimenes Pavao, considered one of South America’s
most dangerous drug traffickers, had been serving an eight-year
sentence for money laundering at the Tacumbu prison in the
Paraguayan capital, Asuncion.
But little did anyone on the outside know what kind of
lifestyle that really meant — until a powerful bomb was
discovered inside the prison.
Chimenes Pavao, who was due for release next year but
facing extradition back to Brazil on drug charges, had allegedly
planned to use the plastic explosives to blow a hole in the
prison walls and escape.
But his plan backfired when police poured into the
prison to investigate and discovered his pimped out cell.
The “VIP cell,” as it was known to prisoners, had three
rooms with en suite bathroom, a kitchen and conference room,
air conditioning, stylishly tiled walls, plush furniture and a
library complete with a DVD collection to watch on the
big-screen plasma TV, AFP reporters saw during a visit.
The DVDs included the full collection of “Pablo Escobar,”
a TV series on the feared Colombian kingpin who was killed in
1993, a hero of Chimenes Pavao’s.
– Friends in high places –
==========================
The raid, which took place Tuesday night, has already shaken
up the Paraguayan penal system.
Chimenes Pavao’s lawyer, Laura Acasuso, told reporters the
corruption that enabled her client to turn his cell into a
luxury suite reached all the way to the top.
“Six or seven justice ministers and six or seven prison
directors” took bribes from Chimenes Pavao, she said.
Justice Minister Carla Bacigalupo was sacked almost as
soon as the scandal broke. Her replacement, Ever Martinez,
vowed a crackdown.
“We’re going to demolish Chimenes Pavao’s cell and take
measures against the prison directors who allowed this inmate
to enjoy these privileges,” he said.
Chimenes Pavao has now been transferred to a cell in
a police special operations unit.