A Brazilian gang leader who tried to escape jail by dressing up as his daughter has been found dead in his cell.
Clauvino da Silva tried to leave the prison in the western part of Rio de Janeiro wearing a silicon mask and long dark-haired wig last Saturday, but was caught.
Authorities said his plan was to leave the 19-year-old behind and walk out the prison’s main door in her place.
Rio de Janeiro state authorities said on Tuesday that the convicted drug dealer had been found dead.
Prison authorities at the Bangu prison complex said in a statement that an investigation had been opened into his death.
It is believed that he hanged himself, they said.
Footage of the prisoner went viral after pictures of him in the disguise emerged.
The pictures showed him wearing a plastic mask, a long black wig and women's clothes.
Authorities say da Silva was part of the leadership of the Red Command.
The gang is one of the most powerful criminal groups in Brazil that controlled drug trafficking in a large part of Rio.
After the failed escape bid, da Silva was transferred to a unit of a maximum-security prison, and was set to face disciplinary actions.
His death is an embarrassment for Rio's prison authorities, which had initially cheered their actions in preventing his unusual escape plan.
He is the latest prisoner to die in Brazil's jails, which have become a major headache for new tough-on-crime President Jair Bolsonaro.
Last week, at least 57 people died after a prison riot broke out in the northern state of Para.
More than 50 inmates died in similar circumstances in May during prison riots in the northern state of Amazonas.
Brazil's incarcerated population has surged eight-fold in three decades to around 750,000 inmates. Prison gangs, originally formed to protect inmates and advocate for better conditions, have come to wield vast power that reaches far beyond prison walls.
The gangs are linked to bank heists, drug trafficking and gun-running, with jailed kingpins running their empires via smuggled cellphones. (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
