SUMMARY

Nova Okaida, also referred to as Okaida, was a drug trafficking gang active mainly in Paraíba state, in the northeast of Brazil. It was founded in the mid-2000s at the Desembargador Flósculo da Nóbrega Jail, under the leadership of Roosevelt Antônio da Silva, also known as “Miramar”. The term “Okaida” was a reference to the Brazilian portuguese pronunciation of the terrorist group Al-Qaida’s name.

Over the years, the gang underwent several shifts in its alliances. First, the gang allied with PCC, but due to the assassination of a PCC member in a neighborhood dominated by Okaida in 2010, their alliance broke down. Subsequently, the gang allied with Sindicato do Crime and Comando Vermelho. However, issues began to arise with Okaida under the leadership of André Quirino da Silva “Fão”, who implemented a tax on drugs entering the state. As a response, Robson Machado de Lima “Rô Psicopata” and José Roberto Batista dos Santos “Betinho” created a splinter group called “Okaida RB” in 2017, which recruited most of the previous members and reconnected with Comando Vermelho and Sindicato do Crime. In 2019, Rô Psicopata and Betinho were expelled from Okaida.

The group had a code of conduct that helped organize the members, and also established norms for the civilians living in the neighborhoods they controlled. They allowed the recruitment of under age people and used their drug addiction to keep their loyalty. Their commitment proof was the assassination of an enemy.

The gang was active in greater João Pessoa and other cities in the interior, such as Campina Grande, Santa Rita, Guarabira, Cachoeira dos Índios and Patos, where they mainly fought against Estados Unidos and PCC. Their main alliances weres with Comando Vermelho and Sindicato do Crime.

Okaida has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.