Gangster's notorious underpants sell out fast

He is accused of being one of the world's most powerful cocaine traffickers, a Colombian kingpin allegedly responsible for more than 300 murders.

But when Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadía's personal belongings went on sale yesterday in São Paulo the bestselling items were not the plasma screen televisions or his designer sunglasses. They were his underpants.

Pnina Spett, a volunteer saleswoman, told Globo television that Abadia's pants had become "folklore" in Brazil after he was arrested half-naked last year by federal police at his São Paulo hideout. The shoppers "came straight for the Y-fronts", she said.



Abadía's underwear was up for grabs at São Paulo's Jockey Club on Tuesday as part of an anti-crime initiative that aims to raise money for charity by auctioning off the ill-gotten gains of South American gangsters.

An estimated 5,000 shoppers came to the sale hoping to pick up some of the 3,000 items on display.

One woman was carried away after the police used pepper spray to control the crowds outside.