Rio de Janeiro police seized 212 rifles in the first quarter of this year. According to the Public Security Institute (ISP), this was the highest value registered since the beginning of the historical series, in 2007. The indicator represents an increase of 57% in relation to the same quarter of last year. According to the survey, on average, 3 weapons of this type are apprehended per day by the Military, Civil, Federal and Federal Highway Police.
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Our Analysis:
The surprising mark – unprecedented in the country and never achieved in previous years in the state – can be interpreted in more than one direction. For police officers and public security specialists, the increasingly constant disputes between drug dealers and militiamen over territories in the West and North Zone and Baixada Fluminense have led to the ever-increasing circulation of rifles in the different regions of Rio de Janeiro. Currently, there are at least 20 communities with almost daily clashes between criminal factions since the first days of the year. Coincidentally the largest number of apprehensions are concentrated in the most violent regions of the state.
21/04/2023 – Two men were executed in a gas station on Estrada da Cachamorra, in Campo Grande, West Zone. Security camera footage shows three hooded and armed men surrounding a car. The action of criminals lasts just over 30 seconds. One of them shoots through the vehicle’s front window, then opens the door. A man falls, and one of the criminals pulls him to the ground. After the victim falls, already injured, the criminals look for something in the car and in the man’s pockets. The hooded men then leave the crime scene.
21/04/2023 – A 44-year-old truck driver was shot dead on his way to work in the Para Pedro community in the Colégio neighborhood, North Zone. The victim was hit by three gunshots. The Military Police stated that there was no operation in the community at the time of the shooting. Witnesses, on the other hand, said that a car passed by shooting.
23/04/2023 – A 23-year-old was killed in Taquara, West Zone. According to the investigations, the reason for the crime would be the non-payment of a debt with moneylenders. According to witnesses, he took out a loan from a group of loan sharks in the region, an area dominated by the militia. And he was shot twice in the head trying to stop criminals from taking the television used by his mother as payment.
25/04/2023 – A truck was hijacked and looted in the community of Manguinhos, North Zone. The driver was with a child in the vehicle’s cabin when he was approached by criminals. Witnesses claim that they even saw the moment when the truck was escorted by two motorcycles on Avenida Leopoldo Bulhões, shortly after it was stolen. The driver was released after the crime.
25/04/2023 – Civil Police arrested a drug dealer known as Chuchu, appointed as the head of trafficking in the Quitanda community, in the Costa Barros neighborhood, North Zone. According to investigations, he was one of those responsible for the death of Belford Roxo Civil Defense and Urban Order Secretary, and of a teacher and school director. According to the police, he encouraged criminals to steal cargo on Avenida Brasil and Presidente Dutra. The Quitanda community is known for the frequent theft of cargo.
25/04/2023 – A 17-year-old teenager was executed on Avenida das Américas, in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, West Zone. Witnesses said he was with a group on the street when a man drove by on a motorcycle, shooting. The case is being investigated by the Capital Homicide Police Station (DHC).
26/04/2023 – A 19-year-old French woman was arrested by the Federal Police at Rio de Janeiro International Airport. The police, after routine checks, found about 8 kg of cocaine on her luggage. The drug was mixed in the filling of bonbons. According to police, the woman intended to board a commercial flight that would stop in Paris, France, before heading to her final destination in Nice.
26/04/2023 – Two police officers at check point in Guaratiba, West Zone, were overtaken by men armed with rifles. The military reported that, around 19:30, they saw a vehicle with four men acting suspiciously on Estrada da Ilha and decided to intercept it. According to the PMs, the four men got out, and at that moment, another vehicle stopped behind the police vehicle with another four men, each carrying a rifle and wearing tactical vests. One of them allegedly said: “We only want to rescue the four men you approached, there are eight of us with four rifles and only the two of you”. The MPs obeyed, and they fled.
26/04/2023 – The US vice-consul in Rio de Janeiro was attacked in Cinelândia, downtown Rio. A transvestite asked her for some bread, and with the victim’s refusal, she punched the vice-consul three times. After the aggression, the Vice-Consul took refuge in a cafeteria until the arrival of the police, who were called to the scene by witness.
27/04/2023 – A motorcycle taxi driver was shot dead on Rua Florianópolis, in the Campinho neighborhood, North Zone. The Fire Department was called at 7:56 but arrived at the scene and found the 40-year-old victim dead.
27/05/2023 – A penal police officer was shot on Rua General Carvalho, in Cordovil, North Zone. He reacted to an attempted robbery. After he reacted, he had a shooting with the criminals and was hit by four shots.
