Asuncion - At least 75 inmates, including
members of Brazil's most powerful gang, escaped from a
Paraguayan prison on Sunday after digging a tunnel in an
operation that prison officials were believed to have been
aware, the government said.
The director of the prison in the city of Pedro Juan
Caballero, near the Brazilian border, was fired along with six
other prison officials, Paraguay's Minister of Justice Cecilia
Perez told reporters.
The escaped prisoners included gang members from First
Capital Command (PCC), Brazil's most powerful and sophisticated
organized crime group, the government said.
"It's an operation that took days and it is impossible that
the officials did not realize that they were leaving...
obviously this was a paid plan," Perez told local radio station
Monumental.
A police van is parked at Pedro Juan Caballero city jail main entrance in Paraguay after dozens of inmates escaped from the prison. Picture: Marciano Candia/AP
The border region near Pedro Juan Caballero is considered a
transit point for drug-trafficking and other criminal activity
by gangs like Brazil's PCC and Comando Vermelho, or Red Command.
Police mount guard at Pedro Juan Caballero city jail entrance in Paraguay. Picture: Marciano Candia/AP
The government said it alerted Brazil's federal police, but
the prisoners are believed to still be in Paraguayan territory.
A police tank guards at Pedro Juan Caballero city jail main entrance in Paraguay. Picture: Marciano Candia/AP
"In that area there are many woods and they know the
territory... these are highly dangerous people," Paraguayan
Attorney General Sandra Quinonez told Monumental.