COLOMBIA NABS BRAZIL'S TOP COCAINE LORD

BOGOTA, Colombia - Luiz Fernando da Costa, who rose from a slum- dwelling
drug peddler to become Brazil's most notorious cocaine lord, was arrested
in the Colombian jungle on Saturday after a massive manhunt by army troops,
the armed forces reported Saturday.

Da Costa's arrest came in dramatic fashion, after a Cessna he was traveling
in on Thursday in southeastern Colombia was forced down by a Colombian air
force fighter. 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
manhunt involving 300 army troops 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,'' Colombian Defense Minister Luis Fernando Ramirez said. ``He is the
Pablo Escobar of Brazil.''

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, in exchange for cocaine.

The rebels have adamantly denied it, saying they merely tax drug-
trafficking operations.

The arrest was the culmination of a two-month antinarcotics 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.

Ramirez said one of the four men, who was arrested Friday, was a member of
the FARC.