In June of this year, a stylized balloon crossed the skies of São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro’s second-most populous city, displaying Rabico’s inscription. The name refers to Antonio Ilario Ferreira, head of the drug trafficking department of Complexo do Salguero, who was celebrating his 61st birthday.
The celebration included an LED show, fireworks and a funk dance, at the entrance of which a banner bearing Rabiko’s initials appeared, along with a drawing of an elderly man with a thick mustache and a crown on his head. His reign in Comando Vermelho lasted more than three decades.
Like Edgar Alves, Duca, 55, Rabico is part of a group of drug lords who age freely, evading police operations while younger members of the faction die in clashes with security forces or rivals. Doka was the main target of the massive operation in Benha and Alemaw complexes last month, which ended with the killing of 122 people, including five police officers. He ran away.
According to police, Doka and Rabiko appeared in the photos alongside rapper Orwam, who did not comment on the matter. The report did not specify the current defense position for criminals wanted for various crimes such as murder and trafficking.
Rabico was arrested in 2008 in Pernambuco. In 2014, federal police found R$3.5 million in cash hidden in barrels on Manguera Hill in Rio. The investigation showed that the money belonged to the drug trafficker, who continued to lead the illegal activities of the faction despite his imprisonment in Pangu. Within a month, the same investigation seized 20 kilograms of gold bullion, worth R$2 million at the time, hidden in the floor of a family member’s home.
After these arrests, he was transferred to a maximum security prison, where he remained until 2019, when the then STF (Supreme Federal Court) Minister, Marco Aurelio Melo, allowed him to freely await the appeal trial. The Attorney General’s Office attempted to reverse the decision, citing its “extreme seriousness” and the risk of destabilizing the factions.
Once he was released, according to police, he got into a conflict with another drug dealer who was trying to control Salguero, causing an internal war that ended in the death of his rival.
The report found that in Comando Vermelho there is a kind of “retirement”: commanders stop making decisions, but continue to receive a portion of the profits from certain areas. This is the case of Wilson Quintanilha, also known as Abelha, 53 years old, also on the run, no longer considered a leader, but who will continue to collect money from the communities of Lapa, in central Rio.
Other traffickers have maintained senior roles in the faction for more than two decades and remain at large. Among them are Paulinho do Fogotero (47 years old), Pizao do Alemão (49 years old), Alvarenga (45 years old) and Scooby-Doo (48 years old).
For criminal lawyer Fernando Viggiano, the recidivism of drug kingpins after receiving parole or temporary release highlights structural problems in the criminal system. “The recidivism of drug trafficking leaders after their release is not just a result of the privilege per se, but of deep flaws in the Brazilian prison system,” he says.
According to him, although the development of the system is stipulated in law, the state fails to monitor graduates. “There is a lack of effective monitoring, robust forensic assessment, and real social reintegration programmes,” he says.
Viggiano highlights that in cases like Duca and Rapico, even formal job offers are not enough to sever ties with organized crime. “These individuals maintain their influence even during imprisonment and return to leadership because there is no strict external oversight, there is a lack of social reintegration, and there is a lack of specific protocols for high-risk inmates,” he explains.
He added, “The state is unable to apply individual measures, implement close monitoring, and adopt effective strategies to disrupt criminal activity. Without this, legal benefit turns into social danger.”
In a memorandum, Seib (Secretary of the Department of Prisons) said that he maintains two programs for sentence recovery: redemption through study and reading. Both aim to provide educational incentives within prison units. Employment procedures and vocational qualification are managed by the Santa Cabrini Foundation. Regarding reducing recidivism, the Ministry stated that it is necessary to work to “expand access to education, strengthen the graduate support network, and encourage opportunities in the labor market.”