Brazilians throng sale of drug lord's luxuries (+photos)
8:36AM
Wednesday April 09, 2008
By Stuart Grudgings
Police hold back hoards of people trying to enter Sao Paulo's Jockey Club racetrack. Photo / Reuters
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Thousands of Brazilians clamoured for a piece of gangster chic this week, jostling their way into a sale of goods ranging from flat-screen televisions to designer underwear confiscated from a convicted Colombian drug lord.
Police, overwhelmed by the size of the crowd at the gates of Sao Paulo's posh Jockey Club, fired pepper spray and pushed some people to the ground as the first bargain-hunters snapped up items, including a collection of Hello Kitty toys, for as little as 1 real (76 NZ cents).
"I'm interested in seeing various items and I'm curious to see what the life of a drug trafficker was like, how ostentatious it was," said Thiana Souza, an interior designer who was waiting in line with about 5000 others.
Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia, who the United States says was one of the most powerful leaders of Colombia's cocaine cartels, was arrested in Brazil last year and last week received a 30-year prison sentence. His wife, a fan of the Japanese cartoon character Hello Kitty, was also jailed.
