Last week, a Sao Paulo court found Abadia guilty of criminal association, money-laundering, corruption and the use of false documents, and sentenced him to 30 years in jail along with a $US2.7 million fine. The sale of goods belonging to Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia, a convicted drug trafficker suspected of heading up Colombia's notoriously violent Valle del Norte cartel, included luxury vehicles, DVDs, wine, flatscreen televisions, a watch valued at $US680,000 ($729,748) - and even underwear.
The head of the Julieta Foundation charity receiving the proceeds, Lucien Delmonte, declined to give figures for winning bids but said the first day of the auction, held in Sao Paulo, was a "success''.
Police said more than 5000 people lined up overnight to enter the auction venue, a city horse-racing club.
Teargas had to be used to clear them when they protested about not getting in.
"I skipped out of work to come and I can't get in,'' complained one business owner, Graza Cesar, who said she wanted to buy clothes that had belonged to Abadia's wife.
Authorities said the auction would continue until Sunday.
Abadia, 44, has been held in a Brazilian maximum-security prison since his arrest in Sao Paulo last August.
The US is seeking his extradition to face drug trafficking, money-laundering and murder charges. The US Drug Enforcement Administration estimated he built up a $US1.8 billion fortune from his activities, said to involve smuggling heroin and cocaine into California. Abadia had been hiding out in Brazil from 2004, using fake identification papers and undergoing at least four plastic surgery operations to alter his appearance.
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