Drug trafficker Marcos Roberto de Almeida, known as Tuta - considered one of the main leaders of the PCC (First Command of the Capital) - was expelled to Brazil on Sunday (18), following a court decision in Bolivia.

The extradition was the result of a joint operation between the Brazilian Federal Police and Bolivia's Fuerza Especial de Lucha contra el Crimen (FELCC). Tuta had been arrested last Friday (16).

The Brazilian Minister for Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, said that the investigations began in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, "following action by the combative São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office".

"It was an extremely complex operation, because it not only involved the President of the Republic's knowledge, but also... Brazil had the greatest interest in moving him to the country in the shortest possible time," he said at a press conference.

The prisoner's transfer to Brazil was coordinated by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Fifty members of the Federal Police took part in the operation, including 12 operators from the Tactical Operations Command (COT). The transport from the Bolivian border to Brasilia was carried out in a PF aircraft.

The escort to the Federal Penitentiary in Brasilia included 18 men from the Federal Criminal Police, as well as support from the Federal District's Military and Civil Police.