Antônio Francisco Bonfim Lopes (born 24 May 1976), better known as Nem (short for "nemesis") or Nem da Rocinha, is a Brazilian drug lord and one of the leaders of " Amigos dos Amigos". Lopes had a net worth of R$100 million ($60 million), was the undisputed head of all

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

operations in

Rocinha Rocinha (, ) is a favela in Brazil, located in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone between the districts of São Conrado and Gávea. Rocinha is built on a steep hillside overlooking Rio de Janeiro, and is located about one kilometre from a nearby beac ...

and branded by the

Brazilian government The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative ...

as "Public Enemy #1".

Early life

Lopes was born in the South Zone of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. His parents moved from

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

, a state in

northeast Brazil The Northeast Region of Brazil ( ) is one of the five official and political regions of Brazil, regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises nine: Maranhão, ...

to escape the local

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

. Before he became involved in drug trafficking, Lopes worked as a delivery boy for a magazine company.

Criminal career

Lopes became an enforcer and

security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, factory guard, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) ...

for the leader of Amigos dos Amigos, Erismar Rodrigues Moreira, also known as "'Bem-Te-Vi'". When Moreira was killed in 2005, Lopes murdered Moreira's successor, Orlando Jose Rodrigues, and seized power as the new leader in 2007. Under his reign over Rocinha, Lopes had 120 armed hitmen and was responsible for more than 60% of consumed

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

in Rio. He had connections with

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

n cocaine dealers and brought 200 kilograms of cocaine from Bolivia per month. Lopes lived in a luxurious 3-storey mansion in Rio and earned a reputation for his parties and relationships with many celebrities.

2011 arrest

On 10 November 2011,

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

arrested Lopes, who was hiding inside a

Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly Subcompact car, subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has bee ...

, heading out of Rocinha. Lopes attempted to bribe the police $570,000 but they refused, while the driver claimed

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

. Lopes was sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security prison for drug charges. Following his arrest, Rocinha was occupied by a

Pacifying Police Unit The Pacifying Police Unit (, also translated as Police Pacification Unit), abbreviated UPP, is a Specialist law enforcement agency, law enforcement and social services program pioneered in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which aims to recla ...

. Journalist and historian

Misha Glenny Michael V. E. "Misha" Glenny (born 25 April 1958) is an English journalist and Television presenter, broadcaster, specialising in southeast Europe, global organised crime, and cybersecurity. He has been Rector of the Institute for Human Science ...

has written the biography of Lopes, ''Nem: The Hunt for Brazil's Most Wanted Criminal''. It was based on 28 hours of interviews with Lopes in prison, and was published by Bodley Head in 2015.

References

{{Authority control 1976 births Living people Brazilian drug traffickers Brazilian gangsters Brazilian murderers People from Rio de Janeiro (city)