Brazilian gang leader reportedly tries to escape jail dressed up as daughter

Authorities say a Brazilian gang leader attempted to escape from prison dressed as his daughter.

The Associated Press reported that prison officials noticed Clauvino da Silva, also known as "Shorty," appeared to be nervous as he tried to leave the prison dressed as a woman. The nervousness gave him away.

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"When he started talking, and pretending to speak like a woman, the guard realized that it was an attempted jailbreak, and identified him," Moyses Henriques, deputy head of prison operations in Rio state, said, according to Reuters. "It was an inmate trying to escape as a woman."

Photos released by State Secretary of Prison Administration show da Silva in a silicon mask of a girl with a long black wig with bangs. He is wearing a pink shirt, gray hoodie, jeans rolled at the cuff and white flip-flops.

Credit: Rio de Janeiro Penitentiary Administration Secretariat

Credit: Rio de Janeiro Penitentiary Administration Secretariat

Authorities also released video of da Silva in which he removes the mask and some clothes as he says his full name. The New York Times reported that da Silva has a shaved head, stubble and tattoos on bis arms.

Police are looking into the role of da Silva's daughter as an accomplice, as it was reported that the escape plan involved leaving his 19-year-old child in the jail.

Reuters reported that seven other people were arrested on suspicion of trying to help da Silva escape. Authorities said da Silva was moved to another unit in the jail and will face punishment. The punishment was not made clear but Henriques told Reuters da Silva recently got another 25 years more on his sentence.

According to a local newspaper report, da Silva is serving a 73-year sentence for drug trafficking. He previously attempted to escape prison in 2013, when he was among 31 prisoners who escaped the Vicente Piragibe Penal Institute in Rio de Janiero thought the sewer before getting caught, the Times reported.

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