Gang Leader Dressed as His Teenage Daughter in Attempted Jail Break

A Brazilian gang leader has tried to escape from prison by impersonating his teenage daughter, complete with a lifelike silicone mask and wig, before attempting to walk out the front door in her place after she visited him.
The attempt by the prisoner Clauvino da Silva, 42, also known as Shorty to pass as the young woman was thwarted by guards at the Bangu prison complex in Rio de Janeiro, who noticed his nervousness on Saturday as he tried to leave, the newspaper O Dia reported , citing prison officials.

Footage released by Rio de Janeiro’s Penitentiary Administration Secretariat shows Mr. da Silva after being discovered by the guards. In it, he wears the mask, glasses, long black wig, jeans and a pink T-shirt with doughnuts on it.

He then removes the disguise piece by piece before finally peeling off the mask with some effort, resulting in an audible smack as the silicone is removed from his face.

Mr. da Silva, his shaved head, tattooed arms and stubble suddenly exposed, is then asked to identify himself. He replies by saying his full name.

Mr. da Silva, who is serving a 73-year sentence for drug trafficking, had planned to simply walk out the front door, leaving behind his daughter, who is 19, according to the report in O Dia.

His daughter was being investigated to establish whether she had any involvement in the plot, as were other visitors to the prison who may have helped bring in materials for the disguise.

This was not Mr. da Silva’s first escape attempt, though it was the first time that he had tried to make his way out the front door. 

In 2013, he was among 31 prisoners who fled the Vicente Piragibe Penal Institute, also in Rio de Janeiro State, through its sewer system, before eventually being caught.