Drug kingpin lived it up behind bars in Brazil: report

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) — A drug trafficker managed to continue his illicit operations while living the high life behind bars in a Brazilian prison until guards discovered his ill-gotten gains this week, the newspaper O Globo reported Tuesday.

Gilson Lino da Silva had 280,000 reals (172,000 dollars) of cash stashed under the mattress of the king-sized bed he had in his cell, which was also decked out with two refigerators, a flat-screen television with DVD player and a personal gym set-up.

Two pistols and a hit list on which figured the names of police officers and police chiefs were also found by the guards, who conducted the sweep Monday in the Lemos Brito prison located in the northeastern city of Salvador de Bahia.

Da Silva, who was serving time for drug,...