Despite his convictions, Brazil is paying Sergio Roberto de Carvalho, a drug lord jailed in Belgium, a comfortable pension and even a supplement for his fake death, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.
De Carvalho, nicknamed 'the Brazilian Pablo Escobar' was handed over to Belgium by Hungary in June. He had been wanted since November 2020, following the seizure in Brazil of more than $100 million belonging to the criminal organisation he headed.
The 64-year-old is currently languishing in a Belgian prison, but he is arguably not the country's most miserable prisoner.
Former military police officer
Despite multiple convictions in Brazil for drug trafficking, he continues to receive his pension as a former policeman: according to the Enfoque MS newspaper, he receives a pension of 13,500 Brazilian reals (approximately €2,500).
That amount has even been increased since, for a time, de Carvalho pretended to be dead, so the Brazilian state turned off the tap. He then reappeared and claimed the sums he had not been paid. Over the past 4 months, he reportedly received €6,000 (gross) per month.
It is not known whether this money actually reached de Carvalho in Belgium and if he was able to benefit from it in prison, through his inmate account. It was also not clear why the State of Brazil does not freeze the money.
Fake death, fake documents, fake identities
De Carvalho was arrested on a café terrace in Hungary last summer. Prior to that, he had been the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, with several countries, including Brazil, demanding his extradition for drug trafficking, money laundering, falsification of documents and homicide in connection with organised crime.
To evade detection, he had staged his death and used at least 10 different identities, each time with false documents.
The Brazilian, considered one of the biggest drug traffickers of all time, is in prison in Belgium for participating in the smuggling of 3.2 tonnes of cocaine, with an estimated street value of €160 million. This was possibly linked to smuggling involving the Antwerp port company Kriva Rochem, for which Willem V. de G. (77), from Knokke, is also in prison.
De Carvalho has been linked to drug trafficking since the 1980s, and is said to have risen to the rank of 'CEO' of an international cocaine smuggling network. He was only dismissed from the Brazilian military police in 2018.
'Prisoners can spend as much as they like'
In addition to Brazilian justice authorities, the FBI and Belgian, Dutch and Spanish police had also been looking for De Carvalho, who allegedly headed an organisation that smuggled 45,000 kg of cocaine a year from South America to Europe.
The drugs were brought in mostly through Antwerp and Rotterdam, but also, for example, aboard a private jet bound for Brussels and loaded with suitcases full of cocaine.
If he actually has access to his pension, he can buy whatever he wants in the prison canteen. "Prisoners can spend as much as they like, as long as they have enough money in their prison account," Valérie Callebaut, spokeswoman for the prison administration, told Het Laatste Nieuws.
