The Sao Paulo state prison authority said it could not say how many inmates had escaped as it was "still tallying the exact number of fugitives." Local media reported that as many as 1,000 had fled from four jails - Mongaguá, Tremembé, Porto Feliz and Mirandópolis - ahead of the lockdown. A video on social media showed a long stream of prisoners purportedly fleeing a prison. The Sao Paulo state prison authority said "acts of insubordination" had taken place at the jails ahead of the suspension of the day-release programme. Sao Paulo state is home to the First Capital Command, Brazil's most powerful prison gang, which is expanding quickly across the country and in neighbouring nations.

Source: bd News24 March 17, 2020 01:41 UTC