José Pires, known as “Pirinhos”, went missing on 16 May. The family believes in a kidnapping or kidnapping scenario and the possibility of a new war for the control of drug trafficking is not ruled out.
Pirinhos was close to Bruno Pide, the leader of the Ribeira gang, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the murder of Ilidio Correia during the war to control Porto’s nightlife in 2007.
The last court case in which José Pires was involved was Operation Aquiles, in which the largest Portuguese drug trafficker, Franklim Lobo, was convicted.
In 2009, “Pirinhos” was stolen from a nightclub in Vigo, Spain and taken to Chaves, Portugal. The man was tortured with pliers for two days, beaten with rifle butts and buried alive in a grave.
Despite the brutal attacks, José refused to hand over the money demanded by the kidnappers. The elderly couple found “Pirinhos” half naked.