BRAZILIAN SUSPECTED IN DRUG-FOR-GUNS DEALING ARRESTED

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Luiz Fernando da Costa, who officials say is Brazil's
most notorious cocaine lord, was arrested in the Colombian jungle Saturday
after a massive hunt by army troops, the armed forces reported Saturday.

Da Costa's arrest came in dramatic fashion, after a Cessna in which he was
traveling was forced down by a Colombian air force fighter Thursday in
southeastern Colombia. Da Costa fled on foot with four other men, and the
pilot of the plane later identified one of the men as da Costa. That
triggered a hunt involving 300 army soldiers who eventually cornered him in
Vichada province near the Venezuelan border.

"I would say he is one of the most important narco-traffickers in the
world," the Colombian defense minister, Luis Fernando Ram(acu)rez, said.

Top Colombian army officials have insisted that da Costa, 33, had been
selling arms to leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, for cocaine. The rebels have adamantly denied it, saying
they only tax drug-trafficking operations.

The arrest was the culmination of a two-month anti-narcotics effort in
southeastern Colombia that army officials say highlighted connections
between da Costa's organization and the FARC.

In February, the army arrested several Brazilians and confiscated documents
that officials said showed how the rebels received arms from da Costa in
exchange for a Brazilian-bound shipment of cocaine.

"This was successful because we were able to break apart the operation that
the FARC and Fernandinho have had in that part of the country," Ram(acu)rez
said, referring to da Costa by his nickname.

"I think this is the beginning of the end of those cartels operating on the
frontier of Brazil," he said. "This will be a serious blow against the
rebels' finances."

Ram(acu)rez said one of the four men, who was arrested Friday, was a member
of the FARC. Another, a Brazilian identified as a drug trafficker, was
arrested with da Costa. The other two were still at large Saturday afternoon.

The army's revelations are sure to be uncomfortable for President Andres
Pastrana, who has said in the past that he would break off peace
negotiations with the FARC if hard evidence shows the group is a
narco-trafficking organization.

Pastrana has come under heavy criticism from the military and much of
Colombian society for his handling of peace negotiations with the
37-year-old rebel group. In 1998, he ceded a Switzerland-sized swath of
territory to the FARC as a haven for peace talks, but the talks have
faltered and the FARC is accused of planning attacks, hiding kidnap victims
and cultivating coca inside the zone.

Brazilian law-enforcement officials have said da Costa built a drug empire
through a mix of street smarts and ruthlessness, rising from a marijuana
dealer to a major cocaine trafficker linked to guns-for-drugs deals.

Da Costa had escaped from a Brazilian prison soon after being jailed in
1996, and army officials said that he had been in the Colombian jungle
since 1999.

Da Costa's last few weeks of freedom, however, were difficult. He had been
wounded in a gunfight with soldiers and had to have two fingers amputated,
Ram(acu)rez said.