A gang leader from Brazil has hanged himself in prison after trying to escape by dressing up as his daughter.
Clauvino da Silva tried to pull the stunt when his daughter visited him behind bars on Saturday. But after being caught, he was found dead in his cell, Rio de Janeiro state authorities have said.
The 42-year-old was found dead in a high-security unit in the state's Bangu prison complex.
Rio's prison authority said an investigation had been opened, reports Mirror Online .
Silva was wearing a silicon mask and a long dark-haired wig as part of his disguise when he tried to walk out the main door.
The convicted drug trafficker, known as Baixinho or "Shorty", also wore a pink shirt with a cartoon image of doughnuts on and tight jeans as he tried to escape from Rio de Janeiro’s Gericino prison.
His plan was apparently to leave his daughter inside the jail , letting guards believe the 19-year-old was heading home after visiting hours.
The death of Silva is an embarrassment for Rio's prison authorities, which had initially celebrated 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, formed initially 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.
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