A drug trafficker attempted to escape from his prison cell by dressing up as an elderly woman using a wig and mask that he managed to sneak in from the outside.

Clodoaldo Antonio Felipe is serving a lengthy 36-year sentence in Coronel Odenir Guimaraes Prison in central Brazil, and will not be free until he is 74-years-old.

Clearly not wanting to wait that long, Felipe, who is part of the Comando Vermelho criminal organisation, the largest drug distribution network in Brazil, devised an elaborate plan to get out.

The mask that he wore was said to be as good as anything created in Hollywood and looked realistic enough for the 44-year-old to break free.

However, his plan was foiled because the prison guards had not noticed an old woman coming in - and wanted to know how she had managed to get into the prison without any ID.

Suspicions were also aroused at the height of the elderly woman, who seemed a little too tall for the guards not to notice.

After female officers searched what they thought was a woman, they quickly discovered it was a man - and one of their own prisoners to boot.

Police spokesman Andre Veloso said: “The penitentiary guard did not recognise the senior lady and this is why he asked for her ID.

“He never expected it could be an inmate trying to escape.”

An inquiry is underway to try and work out where Felipe acquired female clothes and the realistic-looking mask, which sells for as much as £840.

Pics: CEN