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Brazil extradites Colombian drug lord to U.S.
22 Aug 2008 20:16:31 GMT
 Source: Reuters
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Brazil extradited Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia on Friday to the United States, where he is wanted on racketeering and drug charges as one of the most powerful leaders of Colombia's cocaine cartels.

Ramirez Abadia was flown before dawn from a prison in Mato Grosso do Sul state and left Brazil from the Amazon region city of Manaus accompanied by U.S. federal agents, Brazilian federal police said.

National Secretary of Justice Romeu Tuma told Reuters on Thursday that Ramirez Abadia would be extradited within seven days, showing that "Brazil was doing its part in combating international organized crime."

A federal grand jury in Washington indicted Ramirez Abadia in 2004 on drug trafficking and racketeering charges stemming from his leadership of the still powerful Norte del Valle cartel based near Cali.

According to the indictment, the cartel exported more than $10 billion worth of cocaine from Colombia to the United States between 1990 and 2004.

Ramirez Abadia, 45, was arrested a year ago in Sao Paulo, where Brazilian authorities found him living in luxury with his family and running a drug ring reaching across continents.

The Colombian, nicknamed "Lollipop," had sought extradition to the United States, saying he feared for his life if he was returned to his home country. He underwent plastic surgery to alter his appearance and avoid being identified.

Colombia last year seized $400 million in property, including a Caribbean island, from the drug lord.

Confiscated goods that had belonged to Ramirez Abadia and his wife, including vintage port and a vast shoe collection, were sold at a Sao Paulo auction in April.

Investigations in the United States may reveal new drug trafficking routes as well as funds belonging to the cartel that could be confiscated by the U.S. and Brazilian governments, said Tuma. (Additional reporting by Ana Paula Paiva; writing by Stuart Grudgings; editing by Chris Wilson)


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Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the inauguration of Brazilian mining giant Vale's aluminium refinery in Barcarena, in the northen Brazilian state of Para, August 14, 2008. The ...


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