On Sunday, September 15, civil police officers from the state of Paraíba, Brazil, finally caught 33-year-old Jorlan Lopes da Silva after a tense 48-hour operation.
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Officers from the homicide investigation department and the Special Tactical Group (GTE) had to work hard – the suspect was very familiar with the wooded areas, which helped him successfully mislead the officers for some time.
When the fugitive was finally found, the scene was at least unusual. The man was hiding dressed in a women’s dress, wearing a wig and sunglasses, sandals on his feet, and his nails were painted.
What shocked the officers even more was that a two-year-old child was with this dangerous criminal, who, as it soon turned out, was not his son.
According to police chief Danillo Orengo, such a disguise by J. Lopes da Silva was an obvious attempt to make identification difficult and avoid justice.
However, the careful disguise failed due to one fatal mistake: when the fugitive moved, the dress shifted slightly and revealed a tattoo that had been hidden by the fabric until then. This mark allowed the officers to identify the man and immediately arrest him.
It is reported that the minor child who was with him was not physically harmed, but due to the stress and safety concerns, he was immediately given medical assistance.
Shocking confessions: dozens of victims over two decades
Although the circumstances of the fugitive’s arrest sound comical, J. Lopes da Silva’s list of crimes is blood-curdling. He has already been issued five arrest warrants related to homicide investigations in the Mamanguape Valley region.
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According to officers, the man is a member of a highly violent criminal group terrorizing the region. It is suspected that in just the last three months – since he was released from prison in May – J. Lopes da Silva may be linked to as many as 16 homicides.
But the true extent of this man’s cruelty became clear during interrogations. He cold-bloodedly admitted to investigators that he started killing at just 13 years old, and his first victim was his own father.
Moreover, J. Lopes da Silva claimed that during his approximately 20-year criminal “career,” he took the lives of as many as 80 people. To prove his words, he indicated to officers the grave of one of his victims – the police indeed found human remains at the mentioned location.
Not the first encounter with law enforcement
This is by no means the first time this man has caused headaches for officers. About 20 days ago, law enforcement had already arrested him in the Rio Tinto region, but at that time, after a fierce confrontation, he managed to escape.
The current arrest of J. Lopes da Silva is part of a broader scale of police operations in the Mulungu region, where law enforcement also managed to detain two other suspects.
“We hope these arrests will help speed up investigations, gather missing evidence, and finally bring to justice those responsible for their brutal crimes,” said police chief D. Orengo.
Currently, J. Lopes da Silva is in custody, and the investigation into other crimes he may have committed continues.
