Brazilian drug boss caught by police

Knight Ridder Newspapers

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Reversing a string of embarrassments at the hands of drug traffickers, Brazilian authorities on Thursday arrested Elias Pereira da Silva, a notorious drug lord allegedly responsible for the decapitation of one of Brazil's best-known television journalists.

Da Silva, known to Brazilians as Crazy Elias, was arrested in the Complexo do Alemao, a sprawl of slums where investigative journalist Tim Lopes was last seen alive June 2.

The arrest followed a three-day door-to-door dragnet by more than 250 local police officers dressed in black and toting machine guns. A feared bloodbath never materialized after police were tipped to the street and house where Crazy Elias was hiding. He was unarmed, barefoot and shirtless when captured and paraded before the news media.

"I lost," was his only comment, police said.

Giving testimony before a judge late Thursday, Crazy Elias denied ordering the murder of Lopes.