Rio de Janeiro state police seized 222 rifles between 1 January and 16 March, according to data obtained by G1. On average, 3 weapons of this type are collected per day by the Military, Civil, Federal and Federal Highway Police. According to the Military Police (PM): 100 rifles were taken from criminals between January 3 and February 27. In the same period of 2022, the corporation collected 58: a 72% increase in apprehensions. On Wednesday alone (03/15), the PM seized eight rifles from drug dealers fleeing Cidade de Deus, considered a base for the Comando Vermelho in the dispute over territories in the Jacarepaguá region. Rifles also became a common weapon in cargo, vehicles and even jewelry stores robbery. In the day-to-day life of communities, rifles are also seen in the hands of “security” leaders of drug gangs, militiamen, or robbers.
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State Incentive
Police officers who seize rifles will receive an incentive from the state government: whoever removes heavy weapons from the streets will receive a bonus on the paycheck. The apprehension of this type of weapon will become part of the strategic indicators used for payment of the Integrated Target System (SIM).
Our Analysis:
For police officers and public security specialists, the increasingly constant disputes between drug dealers and militiamen over territories in the West, North and Baixada Fluminense zones have led to the ever-increasing circulation of rifles in different regions of Rio de Janeiro. Currently, there are at least 20 communities with constant clashes between criminal factions. The shootings became constant from the first days of January. It is no coincidence that the most violent regions concentrate on the highest number of apprehensions.
18/03/2023 – A 17-year-old teen was killed by a stray bullet in Rocha Miranda, North Zone. He was arriving home with his family when he was shot. According to witnesses, military police were chasing criminals near the Faz Quem Quer favela. The victim was rescued but could not resist the injuries.
19/03/2023 – A man died after being shot when he was on his way to a bar, in the Jardim Novo neighborhood, in Realengo, West Zone. According to witnesses, he was hit after a shooting between Military Police and bandits on Estrada Nogueira de Sá. The victim was shot and rescued, but he couldn’t resist the injuries and died.
19/03/2023 – A prosecutor was shot in the leg during a robbery in Tijuca, North Zone. He was on his way to Maracanã Stadium, where he was going to watch the match between Flamengo and Vasco. The robbery attempt took place on Rua Conde de Bonfim. Criminals took the victim’s motorcycle after shooting him. The prosecutor was taken to the hospital. He works in Baixada Fluminense and participated in Operation Resin against fraud in cargo diversion.
20/03/2023 – A man was shot dead in front of the Barra World shopping mall on Rua Maurício da Costa Faria, in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, West Zone. The victim was approached on the way to his car and hit by more than 20 shots. According to the Military Police, a team was called to the place where the man was shot and found him already dead. There is suspicion that the crime is related to a militia that operates in São João de Meriti, Baixada Fluminense.
21/03/2023 – A drug trafficking leader in Cruzada São Sebastião favela, in Leblon, South Zone, was arrested after being stopped at a blitz in Lagoa, also in the South Zone. There was a pending arrest warrant against him. According to investigations by the Civil Police, the community would function as a trafficking warehouse, receiving drugs from Rocinha and selling them to users in upscale neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to trafficking, he is accused of killing a man.
21/03/2023 – A military police officer was shot dead in Paciencia, West Zone. According to the Military Police, he was assigned to the UPP Tabajaras, and was off duty when the crime took place. The victim was with his wife when he was shot. She was not hit. Nothing was taken from the couple.
21/03/2023 – A bus was hit by gunfire at the intersection of Ourique and Pindaí streets, in the Penha neighborhood, North Zone. There are marks of five shots on the windshield of the bus. Three people were injured: the driver of the vehicle and two passengers. One of the injured was the bus driver, who nevertheless managed to drive to a gas station. Criminals from rival factions allegedly were in the middle of a firefight when the bus passed.
22/03/2023 – A 17-year-old teenager was apprehended by military police in the Tijuca neighborhood, North Zone, after stealing the car of an app driver. The underage called the race through the app and during the journey announced the robbery. Armed, he relieved the driver, who got out of the car while the teenager fled with the vehicle. The driver went to Batalhão da Tijuca who started looking for the vehicle. The victim’s cell phone and car were recovered. With the minor, a pistol was seized.
22/03/2023 – Armed criminals set fire to vans at two points in Campo Grande – Cosmos and Palmares -, in the West Zone. The bandits wore camouflage uniforms and fled after setting the vehicles on fire. According to information from the Civil Police, the suspicion is that the attack was led by militiamen from Seropédica, in Baixada Fluminense.
23/03/2023 – An operation by the Civil and Military Police in Complexo do Salgueiro, in São Gonçalo, Metropolitan Region, left 13 dead. Two women were also injured. One of the dead was the main target of the action, the criminal Leo 41, appointed as the head of drug trafficking and responsible for a series of attacks that killed, since 2021, more than 40 public security agents in the state of Pará and who was on the run since 2019. The police were also looking for other Comando Vermelho leaders who orchestrated and participated in the war that affects communities in Rio West Zone. Thirteen rifles were seized. This operation was the deadliest this year and is also among the ten deadliest since 1994.
Our Analysis:
From inside the communities of Rio de Janeiro, he continued to coordinate an expansion plan for the organization with the purchase of arms and ammunition, financed by drug trafficking, theft, extortion, kidnapping and the collection of monthly amounts from members of the criminal organization in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He was the main leader of the Comando Vermelho in Pará, but he also ordered several attacks in RJ as well. The main faction that operates in Pará, the Comando Vermelho, today has its leaders and main members outside the state, determining attacks especially on public security agents. Although the police did not release details about traffickers’ migration, it’s known that they command the traffic in Pará and in other states without competing with the sale of drugs in Rio. This demonstrates the national level of organization of the gang, which has articulated itself throughout country, always trying to maximize profits and influence.
