Brazil police 'bust cocaine gang'

Brazilian police have broken up an international drug ring and arrested a man thought to be the country's top cocaine trafficker, officials say.

Luciano Daniel, arrested after a gun battle on his ranch, is accused of smuggling 300kg (660lb) of cocaine paste from Bolivia each month.

Eight others were also arrested - four of them at the ranch.

Some 150kg of cocaine paste was found at the ranch, police said, as well as a laboratory for processing the drug.

"We have taken out of circulation the biggest cocaine supplier in Brazil," federal police agent Fernando Francischini told the Associated Press news agency.

Luciano Daniel's alleged operation was notable because it not only imported cocaine from neighbouring countries, but also manufactured it on a large scale within Brazil, police said.

Mr Daniel owns a string of ranches across Sao Paulo state, the richest and most populous in Brazil, EFE news agency reported.

The nine men have been charged with international drug trafficking and face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Mr Daniel's arrest comes less than two months after Brazilian police seized Pablo Rayo Montano, a Colombian trafficker wanted as one of the world's most prolific smugglers.