PORTO VELHO, BRAZIL — A glamorous Brazilian social media influencer known for flaunting a lavish lifestyle has been arrested for allegedly taking the law into her own hands, ordering one of the country's most feared gangs to torture two men who had robbed her home.
Izabela Paiva, 26, was arrested on Wednesday in Porto Velho as part of an organized crime operation. Police accuse the influencer of using her "close ties" to the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) gang to seek revenge.
"Driven by Personal Revenge"
According to the Rondônia State Civil Police, Paiva was out of town when her home was burglarized. Instead of reporting the crime, however, police say the 26-year-old mother used her connections to have the gang track down the two suspects to punish them and retrieve her stolen belongings.
“Even though she was fully aware of how serious the situation was, the suspect chose not to contact the authorities,” police said in a statement. “Instead, she deliberately acted outside the law, driven by personal revenge and in clear defiance of the legal system.”
It is not yet clear if the alleged robbers were tortured as Paiva reportedly ordered, or what possessions were stolen from her home.
A Lavish Online Persona
Paiva, who has nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram, regularly posts photos depicting a life of luxury, often posing with wads of cash, jet skis, and high-end cars.
Details on her specific connections to Comando Vermelho, one of Brazil’s oldest and most notorious criminal gangs, have not been released by authorities. It was also not immediately clear if anyone else was arrested as part of the police operation.
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