Ivo Vieira Silva, widely recognized as rapper 18 Karat, was deported early Wednesday. Sentenced in December 2022 to six years and three months, he will remain free in Portugal, but any attempt to return to Germany will result in immediate detention to complete the remaining sentence.
The Portuguese rapper 18 Karat was flown back from Germany to Portugal, his homeland, in the early hours of Wednesday, with his family already notified of his location.
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“He succeeded in contacting his family this Wednesday morning and informed them of the time and place of his arrival,” stated the artist’s lawyer, Lisa Grüter, reported by German daily Die Zeit (source in Portuguese). The deportation was corroborated by authorities in Dortmund, the German city where the rapper, now 40, resided with his family during his youth.
The musician was expelled from Germany without his mobile phone and was permitted to communicate with relatives only after touchdown in Portugal.
Euronews reached out to Public Security Police (PSP), which manages border control at Portuguese airports, along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) on Wednesday to verify details about the operation and 18 Karat’s legal and social status, but received no response to the inquiries sent.
Since 2022, Ivo Vieira Silva has been serving a sentence of six years and three months in prison for multiple severe drug trafficking offenses. In August 2025, Dortmund officially announced plans to file for his deportation, and German courts ultimately ordered his immediate expulsion.
The rapper had completed roughly four years of his sentence, including time spent in custody since his June 2022 arrest. When a scheduled early release was rescinded, he was transferred to a different prison wing—a clear indicator that the deportation process was imminent.
According to his attorney, the musician was held under a semi-open prison regime and was close to finishing vocational training in painting and varnishing. The German judiciary was expected within weeks to decide on suspending the remainder of his sentence and granting conditional release on bail.
“In my opinion, that ruling should have taken precedence,” the lawyer told Die Zeit, labeling the swift deportation as “a blow to the rule of law.” Being expelled from Germany also results in a significantly extended re-entry ban.
In Portugal, the artist remains at liberty; however, deportation does not nullify his sentence. Should he return to German territory, he will be immediately taken into custody to serve the remaining two years.
“Compelling reasons of public policy”
Ivo Vieira Silva appealed the deportation decree issued by Dortmund authorities, who also revoked his right to free movement within the European Union.
In court, he stressed ongoing contact with his family, including his young daughter Amalia, and mentioned having a German partner with whom he is expecting a second child soon.
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The rapper maintained that these circumstances, combined with his imprisonment, indicated he would not reoffend and posed no threat.
Nonetheless, the Administrative Court in Gelsenkirchen dismissed the appeal, citing “compelling reasons of public policy,” emphasizing the severe societal impact of drug trafficking. During a police raid linked to the Portuguese rapper, authorities seized nearly twelve kilograms of cannabis, some ecstasy and hashish, as well as two small cannabis plantations.
The court also emphasized a tangible risk of recidivism, arguing that the rapper failed to prove he had severed connections with the criminal network involved in the offenses.
The first-instance decision was upheld on Tuesday at an emergency hearing by the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Leading figure on the German rap scene
Ivo Vieira Silva emerged on the German rap scene in 2015 with his debut album “FSK 18 Brutal.” Multiple tracks of his have accumulated streams between 10 and 30 million on Spotify.
Recognizable for his golden mask, 18 Karat kept his identity hidden for ten years despite rising to prominence due to collaborations with the label Banger Musik.
In 2025, he revealed his name and Portuguese nationality, the country issuing his passport. According to German site Raptastisch (source in Portuguese), he likely has Bosnian ancestry.
Last year marked his first experience of fatherhood during his sentence. He received permission to leave prison, where he married his German partner Maya, to attend the birth of their daughter Amalia Adriana. The couple’s second child, conceived during another temporary prison release, is expected in September 2026.
18 Karat’s wife previously said the couple plans to relocate to Portugal after his release, emphasizing that her husband “can create music anywhere in the world.”