My Story Meeting A Drug Lord In Brazil

Party, Sex And Other Drugs

I live in a place where drugs comes in such a diverse menu and context that is easy to wonder how it all gets there, and even more, how people find it?

Parties and clubs are a universal market place for drugs, everywhere! Without making any distinction on categories, parties and drugs comes together, that is a fact in every city or country and that is something almost everyone knows. Alcohol, tobacco, weed, ecstasy, cocaine and more, those are items that usually, if you are looking for it, you would find it in a dark corner inside a club or party. The problem in that scenario is the blind purchase paradox, if you don’t know the dealer nor the place, you might run the risk of getting a bad quality product or even cheated. So, if you don’t want to wait to go to the party, find a mysterious dealer, probably pay double price and chance your luck, where to go? Who to ask? I asked these questions to a friend, and he answered almost as a public service announcement:

"Bro, go to the supermarket."

Have You Wonder How Does A Drug Supermarket Looks Like?

Even though that we are talking about illegal drugs, apparently there is a popular knowledge in this city of where are the location (more or less) of these Drug Supermarkets. But here is the catch, these spots are up in the heart of the favela, the slums of Brazil.

At least in Latin America a slum is not a play ground to take walk in the afternoon, so this is the first concept to understand the logistics of the drug traffic in a city. The shady dealer in the party is the middle man that goes to these secret spots, takes the courage to visit the headquarters of the drug lords and then bring it to you in a small consumers dose so you can have fun.

And here is where I start my journey…

I’m very curious, and in the crave of knowledge, I asked if I could go to one of these places and maybe interview the vendor or person in charge. I know this is not a normal request, and kind of dangerous, but with the normality that everyone told me about these places I thought I could have a chance to get my story.

Welcome To The Favela

My friend told me about 3 spots that were “safe enough” for me, as gringo (foreigner), try to get there and see how things are.

Ironically enough, the one I chose to go, the point of reference to know which street is a big supermarket chain like Walmart, Behind the store there is a hill, with a huge set of stairs going up to the humble neighborhood, that slowly blends into a slum with no frontiers nor rules.

As your breath starts to give in to the immense of the stairs, passing by unfinished houses, kids playing in the streets, women cooking outside of squalor huts. Then when you start to realize that slum is the only surround, there is a final set of stairs, watched by a few shady characters, vigilantes of the movement without approaching nor threatening.

A Normal Super Market

The Supermarket is an empty slot, with a small wooden hut, that actually behave more like a McDonald’s Drive-Thru. People going and coming, even with a little shelf that seemed the degustation-bar where I saw a guy sniffing some cocaine and other guy splitting a brick of weed.

Beside from my state of alert and normal fear to be in a place like that, the entire scene looks like a happy day in the business. The clients were men and women from all kinds of type. The big old man, agro-business looking, good clothing, buying cocaine. A short tattooed girl in her 30s, with a beer in hand buying ecstasy. And with me some hippie-looking college students waiting for a big brick of weed. All kind of safe and friendly.

In the entrance of the lot, were the stairs ends, were a couple guys sat down, looking like the were construction workers, resting for a bit in a normal day of work. My guess is that these guys are the facade and watch dogs, but like an alarm system more than bodyguards, because they looked like malnourished slum workers, not even addicts. They don’t talk much, just asked one question:

"Weed, cocaine or what?" - And they just tell you if its available or not.

Inside the hut there are two guys that run the business. Yeah, they had all gang-type marks and style. Straight to the point without being menacing. Handling orders and customers like in a Starbucks. Each with a different category of drugs, different stacks of moneys but working together and sharing tools.

The Interview

I was the only foreigner there for sure, and I have to admit that my clothes reveal my outsider look. When my friends were talking their business with one of the guys, I contemplated the scene trying to figure out how to talk to the dealer and ask him some question, without putting myself at too much risk. And then, while I was going through some imaginary dialogues in my head, the other dealer staring at me, said:

"What’s up bro? I haven’t seen you here? What do you want?"

A line of questions I wasn’t expecting. Quickly I moved closer, and with a courage I don’t know till this day how I got it, I said:

"Bro, I’m here to meet you. " "Actually, I want to know a little bit more about this place" - I added, nervously in the end.

I think the guy was really high, because he laughed and hugged me like an old friend joking around. I couldn’t act a formal interview, my request plan flew away through a conversation I started to have with the guy.

In a relax chat, the guy started to offer me some drugs, “free samples”, and explained the rates and portions. He was kind of flatter for my curiosity and was a non-stop series of anecdotes and jokes material. Sometimes was difficult for me to understand him, the slang and his accent were a challenge, plus the effects of the whatever drug he was on, I could get about half of his stories.

Fireworks In The Slum

My favorite insight about the traffic in the Supermarket was the meaning of fireworks.

Here in Brazil, it could be a whatever day, at any random time, you will hear fireworks bursting from nowhere. A phenomenon I always wondered due to its lack of visible purpose. And now I got my answer.

In the favela the dealers let the community know they have received drugs or new products, with the code. Fireworks in the sky, the fun is here!

I Went And Came Back Alive

My conversation with the dealer was insightful but short. After I denied a free hit of what they call “perfume-launcher”, I think is Poppers, his will to talk got lowered down. He said if I wanted to know more he can invite me to a Baile de Favela, a bloc-party in the slums, where in his own words is describe as:

"The craziest shit you will ever see" - With a dark tone and laughs to end.

Maybe some day, I will go explore again the heart of the underworld around us. And of course, come back to tell you about it. 

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