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.Those who got in found a den of goods spread across 19 rooms.As well as the pants, on sale for about 35p each, there was Abadía’s DVD collection, which included copies of CSI, Without a Trace, The Godfather and Indiana Jones, as well as 12 televisions on which to watch them.Abadía’s library contained books by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. His wine cellar contained 2,000 bottles of Portuguese wine. Organisers said that within three hours of opening, 80% of Abadía’s belongings had gone.Until his arrest last August Abadía, 44, had surrounded himself with these items at his Sao Paulo hideout, undergoing plastic surgery nearly 80 times to avoid detection.This month he was sentenced to 30 years in prison on drug charges.Gilmar Andrade, 35, a businessman, left the bazaar dressed as the Colombian kingpin, drawing cries of “Look! It’s Abadía!””Now all that was Abadía’s is mine,” he told the Estado de São Paulo newspaper, clad in a leather jacket, Gucci shoes and with a white swag bag slung over his shoulder.Abadía’s more expensive belongings, including a Jeep and his watch collection, were due to be auctioned last night at the Jockey Club’s horse auctioning hall.
