The International Expansion of São Paulo’s “Primeiro Comando da Capital” (PCC): notes on the illicit drug trade in South America

Abstract

This article examines the trajectory of the “Primeiro Comando da Capital” or PCC, a prison-based organized criminal group from Brazil, and its participation in transnational drug trafficking in South America, notably around the Paraguayan-Brazilian border. The article makes use of data from semi-structured interviews, literature review, media and document analysis under the theoretical framework of organised crime. Furthermore, it addresses the issues of drug prohibition, punitive selectivity of the criminal justice system and mass incarceration.

Keywords

• Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC)
• drug trafficking
• organised crime
• mass incarceration
• criminal selectivity