02/06/2023 – A 21-year-old man was killed during a shooting on Avenida Brasil, near the neighborhood of Irajá. According to his family, he was returning home on a motorcycle when military police fired shots, hitting him in the back. According to the Military Police, officers were on patrol in the region, when they came across armed men on motorcycles. The bandits fired at the police who retaliated. A pistol, ammunition and a motorcycle were seized.
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02/06/2023 – Two criminals armed with machetes, blocked the railroad line on the Gramacho branch, between the São Cristóvão and Praça da Bandeira stations, subdued the driver and robbed passengers of a SuperVia train. The train was heading to Central do Brasil, and the bandits forced the driver to open the composition doors to rob the passengers.
05/06/2023 – Three men died, and one was injured after a shooting with military police in the community of Chacrinha, in Praça Seca, West Zone. According to the corporation, teams from the Tactical Actions Group were shot at by a group of armed men. After the shooting, three men were found dead and one injured in a wooded area in the region. With the group, a rifle, two pistols and two grenades were seized.
05/06/2023 – Civil Police arrested 18 people for carrying out the fake vehicle consortium scam, in which non-existent vehicles were traded. According to investigations, the gang advertised cars, motorcycles and trucks on the internet and lured victims with promises of pre-approved credit. The gang also maintained offices in downtown Rio. In the ad, scammers usually asked for a 10% down payment, and the rest would be paid in installments. The promise was to deliver the vehicle in a week. But after paying the down payment, the victim never saw the money again, much less the good he bought.
05/06/2023 – The police arrested 11 people in different parts of Rio after the match between Vasco and Flamengo, in Maracanã. In São Cristóvão, North Zone, two men were arrested with fireworks on Avenida Roberto Dinamite, after several people destroyed the façade of Vasco da Gama’s headquarters. In Gardênia Azul, West Zone, officers arrested nine people and prevented a fight between supporters. In the action, pieces of wood were seized.
05/06/2023 – A Brazilian Army skydiver was assaulted and robbed inside the barracks in Vila Militar, in Deodoro, West Zone, by a hooded man with a knife. She had her pistol stolen, and the criminal fled inside the barracks. According to the military, the paratrooper had just left the overnight stay at the Skydiver Instruction Center and was returning to the Health Detachment when she was attacked. A hooded man would have come out of a thicket and attacked the woman with punches and kicks, took the Army pistol and fled. Two skydivers passing by on the street saw the scene and tried to run after the criminal. However, he shot at them and managed to escape. The Army believes that the theft was committed by a military who knows the escape routes from the area.
06/06/2023 – Civil Police carried out an operation in the communities of Santa Teresa, Rio Comprido and Catumbi, in downtown Rio. The target was a gang specialized in car theft and the police aimed to serve twelve arrest warrants. A teenager was apprehended because he had an open search warrant. Nine stolen motorcycles and four cars were recovered. Large amounts of marijuana and cocaine were also seized.
06/06/2023 – Two men were kidnapped and shot dead in Gardênia Azul, in Jacarepaguá, West Zone. According to residents, criminals would have transported the victims to Avenida Ayrton Senna in the trunk of a car, got out of the vehicle and shot them with a rifle. The Military Police reported that officers were called to verify occurrences in the neighborhood and that, at the scene, two individuals were found dead. The neighborhood has been the focus of criminal gangs trying to take power in the region.
06/06/2023 – The Civil Police closed a fake license plate factory that operated in Padre Miguel, West Zone. A man was arrested while producing the material. The operation took place a few hours after police officers arrested a man driving a motorcycle with an adulterated license plate. With this, it was possible to locate the factory where the plate was made. Several false plates were seized at the site, in addition to materials used in the manufacture of products. According to the investigations, the forgeries had been made for almost a year in the establishment.
06/06/2023 – Civil Police arrested a man identified as a burglar in the West Zone. He was arrested as he left a beauty clinic, where he had just had a procedure, in Jardim Oceânico. In his house, police found dozens of jewelries and watches. According to investigations, he was part of a gang that robbed houses in Barra da Tijuca and Recreio at dawn, breaking into the roof, using fake keys, or robbing residents in the garage. The victims were locked in a room, while the burglars ransacked the property in search of valuables. Criminals often act hooded and gloved.
07/06/2023 – A cigarette merchant was murdered in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, West Zone. The victim was walking along Rua Crispim Laranjeiras when he was shot at by armed men. The killers were in an unmarked car and fled shortly after the shooting. Police from the Capital Homicide Police Station are trying to locate security cameras that may have captured the execution to help identify the perpetrators of the murder.
07/06/2023 – Drug dealers destroyed a Military Police (PM) armored vehicle in the Bateau Mouche community, in Praça Seca, West Zone. The criminals threw grenades and Molotov cocktails, which detonated under the vehicle. The fire reached the fuel hose and spread rapidly. The armored vehicle was being used to repress an attack against the PM’s advanced base. When it arrived, bandits surrounded it and started throwing bombs, as well as stones and bricks. The criminals fled to a wooded area. The PM stated that the ambush was a retaliation for the death of one of the local drug lords, known as DVD do Batô.
Our Analysis:
Considered almost indestructible, the Military Police armored vehicle – popularly known on the streets of Rio as “caveirão” – was destroyed by the flames of Molotov cocktails thrown by criminals from one of the communities in Praça Seca, West Zone. The episode caught the attention of experts. Some believe in a possible escalation of violence; others see little prospect of change – they consider it just another episode in the war between police and drug traffickers. This scene is an emblematic moment, and it shows the level of violence present in clashes between police and armed groups. The confrontations are increasingly lethal and militarized. Carrying out police operations are important, but after decades of implementing the logic of the “War on Drugs”, results are not really effective, and the gangs have only expanded in terms of territory and influence.
08/06/2023 – A Penal Police inspector was murdered in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, West Zone. He was 35 years old and was hit near the condominium where he lived, on Estrada do Pontal. The motive for the crime is still unknown. The victim was head of the security service at the Elizabeth Sá Rego prison.
08/06/2023 – Three men were arrested for illegally carrying a firearm and stealing a vehicle on Estrada do Magarça, in Campo Grande, West Zone. The criminals, according to the police, were part of the largest militia operating in the West Zone of Rio. When stopped at a blitz, passengers refused to open the windows and disembark from the vehicle. When carrying out searches in the vehicle, officers found the material that was seized. With the criminals there were: a rifle, three pistols, 219 ammunition, 12 magazines, in addition to a ceramic plate for a ballistic vest, four vests, police clothing, a pair of boots, cell phones and almost R$100,00 in cash. The car used was also stolen.
