A glamorous doctor whose dad was a most wanted drug trafficker has been sentenced to nearly 17 years behind bars after she was found guilty of being part of his family cartel.
Skin specialist Larissa Gabriela Lima Umbuzeiro was arrested in February last year (2024) with five other family members suspected of helping to run the narcotics empire.
Her father, notorious trafficker Rener Manoel Umbuzeiro had died during a gun battle with police on his massive marijuana plantation in Feira de Santana, in the state of Bahia in Brazil.
Picture shows Larissa Gabriela Lima Umbuzeiro, undated. She was sentenced for drug trafficking in Bahia, Brazil. Note: Private photo taken from local media. (Newsflash/NX)
Larissa and her husband Paulo Victor Bezerra Lima, flaunted their VIP lifestyle on social media wearing designer clothes on luxury holidays around the world.
And even as a medical student privately educated Larissa lived in a luxury three bedroom apartment in the city's poshest neighbourhood.
Prosecutors told the 3rd Criminal Court of the District of Feira de Santana that a forensic accounting review of their lifestyle proved it could not be funded by their legitimate income.
Picture shows Larissa Gabriela Lima Umbuzeiro and her husband Paulo Victor Bezerra Lima, undated. They were sentenced for drug trafficking in Bahia, Brazil. Note: Private photo taken from local media. (Newsflash/NX)
Shell companies set up to distribute the drugs cash used family members' bank accounts to hide the source of the massive cashflow in luxury property deals.
Police had seized more than BRL 50 million (GBP 7 million) in assets, cattle, property and cash held by cartel boss Umbuzeiro and his family.
Judges sentenced brunette Larissa was to 16 years and six months' jail at a hearing on 1st April.
Her mother and Umbuzeiro's widow, also charged with drugs money laundering, was also jailed for the same term.
Picture shows Larissa Gabriela Lima Umbuzeiro and her husband Paulo Victor Bezerra Lima, undated. They were sentenced for drug trafficking in Bahia, Brazil. Note: Private photo taken from local media. (Newsflash/NX)
Larissa's husband was also convicted of trafficking and money laundering along with her sister Clenia Maria Lima Bernardes.
Their cousins Gabriela Raizila Lima de Souza and Robelia Rezende de Souza were also convicted.
The six accused were arrested in February last year after a five-year police operation dubbed Operation Kariri to root out and dismantle the marijuana empire.
Picture shows Niedja Maria de Lima Souza Umbuzeiro and her daughter Larissa Gabriela Lima Umbuzeiro. They were sentenced for drug trafficking in Bahia, Brazil. Note: Private photo taken from local media. (Newsflash/NX)
The Umbuzeiro family, originally from the backwoods of Pernambuco, settled in Feira de Santana in the early 2000s.
Within months, prosecutors said, they had transformed the land into a base into a drugs hub for Brazil's northern states.
The convicted have been given judicial permission to appeal their convictions.
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