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Summary: A lawyer and working journalist who was one of the most wanted fugitives in Sao Paulo was finally found by police after being in hiding for a year.
A journalist lawyer in Brazil was alleging using her position as a lawyer to deliver messages from cartel members in jail to those outside. Luana de Almeida Domingos, known professionally as Luana Don, was arrested at a beach resort in Sao Paulo for her role with a drug cartel.
Luana Don was located at the property in IIhabela by the elite police. A warrant for her arrest has been out since November 2016 when she first eluded police capture. A ÂŁ12,000 reward has been up for information leading to her whereabouts for over a year with, obviously, no one jumping at the money.
Investigators claim that Luana Don has been acting as a “carrier pigeon” delivering messages for the drug cartel First Command of the Capital (PCC). She allegedly delivered information between leaders serving long-term sentences in high-security jails and their gang members and foot soldiers working the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
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Sao Paulo police worked with Rio de Janeiro police to track Luana Don to a hideout at the resort. She closed her offices and stopped working for the news channel a year ago. The Special Action Police Unit for Combatting Organized Crime (Gaeco) released a statement explaining, “Luana Don is believed to be part of a cell called “sintonia dos gravitas” (a communication line linking lawyers and criminals). The lawyers handle the cases for kingpins and other gang members serving time in prison. They stated, “She is believed to have acted as a carrier pigeon carrying orders given by criminal leaders to gang members on the outside, with strict instructions for their commands to be executed and carried out according to plans.”
They have charged her with money laundering and active involvement in criminal drug rings. She claims she is being “victimized” by the police. Luana Don worked as a TV reporter from 2012 to 2015 for a network in Sao Paulo. She also studied law and worked under the Sao Paulo Bar Association. She could have easily gone another route and pursued modeling.
She was arrested through the efforts of Operation Ethos, an operation specifically launched in 2015 to target corrupt lawyers. The group has arrested over 50 lawyers for their involvement in criminal organizations and abusing their privileged positions. In the past month, two other fugitive lawyers have been arrested. One was found in Sao Carlos, while the other was found in Paraguay.
Do you think lawyers should submit to extra steps and protocols to help prevent and keep track of misconduct? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
To learn more about drug cartel activity, read these articles:
- Mexican Attorney General Arrested at U.S. Border
- FBI Uncovers Mexican Drug Cartel’s Laundering Through Bank of America
- Mexican Mayor Who Defied Drug Cartels Succumbs to Third Assassination Attempt, A Hero to Her Children and Country
Cover Photo: virgula.uol.com.br
Photo 1: rd1.com.br
Photo 2: brandpress.com.br
