Alleged drug lord caught – in 'diplomat's' car boot

Brazil police capture Rio de Janeiro's most wanted alleged drug trafficker as they prepare to occupy city's largest slum.

Police captured Rio de Janeiro's most wanted alleged drug trafficker on Thursday as they prepared to occupy the city's largest slum.

Antonio Bonfim Lopes, alleged drug lord of the teeming Rocinha slum, was found in bizarre circumstances – in the boot of a car belonging to a man who claimed to be a senior diplomat from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

TV images showed the suspect, known as Nem, looking close to tears after his arrest.

Police said they planned to occupy Rocinha, home to more than 100,000 people and one of the city's main drug-selling areas, in the coming days.

(Published by The Guardian - November 10, 2011)