Drug seizures in neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro and in regions of Baixada Fluminense increased by up to 200% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year. Statewide, growth was 9.6%. The data were disclosed by the Public Security Institute (ISP), which attributes the growth to investments in technology and police intelligence.
Among the places that had the highest rates of drug seizures:
- The area corresponding to the Jacarepaguá region, in the West Zone, was the one that stood out the most. The growth was 200% from January to July, in the region, the highest accumulated value since 2018.
- In the region of Ilha do Governador, in the North Zone, drug seizures increased by 134.6%.
- Performance that can also be seen in the region that corresponds to the municipalities of Magé and Guapimirim, in Baixada Fluminense, where there was growth of 127.6%, the highest indicator of the entire historical series since 2003.
- Mangaratiba, Angra dos Reis and Paraty registered an increase of 40.1% in seizures, the highest accumulated value since 2014.
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27/07/2023 – A mass robbery was perpetrated by criminals in Parque dos Patins, Lagoa nieghborhood, in the South Zone of Rio, on Thursday (27/07) night. According to the Military Police (PM), five minors were apprehended, and two men were arrested for the crime. Agents from the 23rd BPM (Leblon) were patrolling along Avenida Borges de Medeiros, when they observed a group of seven men in suspicious behavior. During the approach, female purses and a cell phone were found with the suspects.
28/07/2023 – At least three people died during an operation carried out by the Military Police on Friday (28/07) morning, in Vila Kennedy, West Zone of Rio. According to the PM, the objective is to arrest criminals involved in the theft of vehicles and cargo, in addition to removing barricades in the streets of the community and recovering stolen cars. Also, according to the corporation, the deaths occurred during a confrontation in the place known as Garganta, where men from the 14th BPM (Bangu) were shot at.
30/07/2023 – A civil police officer and a prison officer had, Sunday (30/07), their homes in Brás de Pina, in the North Zone of Rio, hit by grenade, revolver and rifle shots. At 14h20, a police inspector from the 7th Precinct (Santa Teresa) was near the sidewalk when criminals got out of a dark car and shot at him. Minutes later, men got out of a white car and threw grenades and Molotov cocktails. Then a neighboring police officer from another block had the house targeted. In the same neighborhood, close to Rua Tiboim, another police officer was attacked.
30/07/2023 – 33-year-old Nathallia Cristiny Candido Lacerda was shot in the back by a military police patrol, in Pavuna neighborhood, in the North Zone of Rio, on Sunday night (30/08). The police alleged that the driver of the car in which she was being transported did not obey a police order to stop at a police check point. However, her husband, the driver, alleges that he did not disobey a stop order given by agents and that there was no check point.
30/07/2023 – A military policewoman was shot on Sunday night (30/07) after reacting to a robbery in the neighborhood of Guadalupe, in the North Zone of Rio. According to the Military Police, Priscila Santos Martins was off duty when she was approached by criminals. She was hit in the leg and, according to the corporation, her health framework is stable.
31/07/2023 – A Military Police armored vehicle was called to carry out an emergency rescue operation on Monday afternoon (31/07), to rescue two police officers, who mistakenly entered the Cinco Bocas community, in Brás de Pina, in the North Zone of Rio. They would have followed the instructions of a traffic application, were surrounded by bandits and ended up crashing the car. None of the PMs, who were off duty, were injured.
02/08/2023 – Ten people died, and five others were injured, including two military police officers, during an operation in Complexo da Penha, in the North Zone of Rio, on Wednesday (02/08). According to reports from residents, since early morning there has been intense shooting in the region. Fire was set on barricades to disrupt the movement of agents. Buses were unable to pass through roads in the region. The action involving civil and military police began at 5:30 am and ended around 3:00 pm.
03/08/2023 – Four men were arrested red-handed, on Tuesday (01/08), suspected of committing the crime of racism, in Méier, North Zone of Rio. They were members of a criminal organization called “Satans”, a motorcycle club that used Nazi symbols on their identification and that was already suspected of causing fear in the local population, according to investigations by the 26th DP (Todos os Santos). One of those arrested is Philipe Lima, who heads the organization and who was arrested for racism and conspiracy in 2013.
03/08/2023 – On Thursday (03/08), an important expressway of Rio de Janeiro city, the Red Line (Linha Vermelha), was closed for some minutes after the security forces found a grenade on one of the lanes. The anti-bomb squade was called and exploded the device.
06/08/2023 – On Sunday (06/08), a Military Police patrol shot at a vehicle, killing 26-year-old Guilherme Lucas Martins Matias, and injuring two others, early in the morning, in Catete, in the South Zone of Rio. The car in which the young man was with three friends was hit by at least seven shots. Only the driver of the vehicle was unharmed. Guilherme Lucas was returning from a funk party in a nearby community with friends at the time of the approach. According to the Civil Police report, a PM gave the order to stop the vehicle, which was traveling on the wrong side of the street on the corner of Rua Fialho and Rua Santa Catarina, but the driver would not have obeyed. The officer claimed that, upon realizing that the man in the passenger seat was armed with a silver pistol pointed in his direction, he fired shots at the occupants of the car.
