RIO DE JANEIRO SECURITY INCIDENTS – 4TH BULLETIN OF OCTOBER

21/10/2022 – Two doctors were victims of a new scam. Criminals impersonated them and transferred phone lines to another operator. With the numbers in hand, the scammers took control of the victims’ WhatsApp and social networks and carry out scams. With access to message history, criminals asked friends and patients for money. They even shared the PIX key and the name of the account holder used by the gang.

21/10/2022 – A police officer was murdered during an action in the Renascer Community, in Tanque, Jacarepaguá region, West Zone. According to the PM, he and his team went to the community to check reports that indicated the presence of armed men at the scene. When they arrived there, they were met with gunfire and retaliated. No suspects were arrested.

21/10/2022 – A resident was robbed when arriving home, in a building in Lagoa, South Zone. According to local security cameras, the man arrives, reduces speed to enter the building. In the sequence, a car passes, criminals get out and announce the robbery. One of the criminals points his gun at the driver, ordering him to get out of the car. The thief also took the victim’s ring, necklace, and watch, before getting into the car and leaving.

22/10/2022 – Police officers arrested a Chilean man for robberies in a shopping mall in Barra da Tijuca. The man was arrested in the parking lot of a shopping mall, with perfumes and watches stolen from two establishments.

23/10/2022 – Former deputy Roberto Jefferson shot at federal police officers who were serving the arrest warrant determined by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), in the city of Comendador Levy Gasparian, Rio de Janeiro state. Roberto Jefferson resisted arrest and, from his home, fired the shots — 3 grenades were thrown, and rifle shots were fired. Two policemen were injured. He surrendered himself to the police after spending 8 hours disrespecting the Federal Supreme Court order. During, a film reporter from TV Globo was attacked by supporters of Roberto Jefferson and the President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

24/10/2022 – A 37-year-old businessman was killed in Flamengo, South Zone. He had just left a show house on the waterfront, when his car was surrounded by a vehicle with armed criminals, who stole jewelry and his car. The victim was shot in the chest and did not survive.

25/10/2022 – Armed criminals robbed the Boulevard Rio mall, in Vila Isabel, North Zone, around 21:40. At least three criminals entered the mall and robbed a cell phone store, taking several devices. Upon entering the mall, criminals approached employees and customers who were still walking around the place. There was no shooting and no one was injured. After the robbery, the criminals fled.

24/10/2022 – A psychologist’s car was hit by two shots during a police chase in Vicente de Carvalho, North Zone. The victim and her sister were in the car but were not injured. According to the victim, she was passing close to the Carioca Shopping when she saw a runaway car at high speed going up the sidewalk and a Military Police vehicle chasing the vehicle. She heard gunshots and then shards of glass fell on top of her and her sister.

25/10/2022 – Police officers from the Ipanema Station arrested a pair of scammers who carried out scams that could have resulted in losses of up to R$100,000 on a 77-year-old pensioner in the last six months. According to the investigations, the scams began in August, when the elderly woman received a false phone call from the bank informing her that she had been the victim of a fraud. The scammers asked the woman to hand her bank card to another member of the gang, pretending to be a delivery boy. The card was collected from the victim’s home. From then on, they began to use it improperly, causing an initial loss of more than R$10,000. After that, the couple approached the elderly woman. They introduced themselves as belonging to the civil police of São Paulo and promising to solve the case and prevent further scams. Believing in this version, the victim began to hand over the money that was in her bank account for them to keep in a police station safe.

25/10/2022 – A military police officer was killed after reacting to an attempted robbery. The crime took place on Avenida Brasil, near Bonsucesso, North Zone. According to the Expressway Police Battalion (BPVE) a team that was on patrol was called to verify the occurrence on Avenida Brasil, arriving at the scene they found the injured victim. He was rescued but did not survive.

26/10/2022 – A truck driver died on Avenida Brasil, near Bonsucesso, North Zone, after being shot. After being hit, the 35-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle, crashed into a wall. The truck stopped just 400 meters ahead. Preliminary information indicates that the truck was transporting parts for buses. The vehicle has at least 15 bullet marks. There is still no information about the motive for the crime.

Our analysis:

Avenida Brasil is an important expressway in Rio de Janeiro, with 58 kilometers surrounded by dozens of favelas, including the Chapadão and Pedreira Complexes, Favela de Acari, Chatuba, Vila Cruzeiro and Complexo da Maré. Despite the differences in the profiles of the communities and neighborhoods located around Avenida Brasil, they all have in common the fact that they live with crimes related to drug trafficking – mainly shootings, mass robberies and robberies – and cargo theft. The proximity of favelas allows criminals to leave, commit crimes and to escape quickly before the police arrives. With this opportunity at hands, criminals discovered that property crimes could be a secondary source of income for when drug sales are bad, when the police causes a big financial loss to them during an operation, or even when they see a chance to make more money. In this regard, among the crimes available, car and cargo robberies emerged as quite interesting options. The first could be used to sell stolen vehicles, or parts, and even use the vehicles in criminal actions. The second to sell the stolen goods, or to distribute them to the poor population of the favelas, scoring some points with them. Regarding cargo theft, according to a survey by the Federation of Industries of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan), last year (2021), about 97% of the registered cases were in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro. And half of the incidents took place on the main highways in the state: BR-040, Rodovia Washington Luís; BR-101, Avenida Brasil; BR-101, Niterói-Manilha Highway; BR-116, Presidente Dutra Highway; BR-493, Metropolitan Arch; and RJ-104, Amaral Peixoto Highway. The worst spots of these roads in terms of cargo robberies are close to some of the largest favelas controlled by the gangs.

26/10/2022 – An app driver was killed when entering Rua Fernando Lobo, in Ricardo de Albuquerque, region of the Complexo de Comunidades do Chapadão, North Zone. Police is investigating information that the victim was killed by mistake. He was rescued but did not survive his injuries. According to the Military Police, the case was referred to the Capital Homicide Police Station, which is investigating.

27/10/2022 – A Federal Highway Police (PRF) officer was killed by criminals on the Transolímpica, near the neighborhood of Vila Militar, West Zone. According to the Military Police, the man reacted to an attempted robbery and was shot and fell from an overpass on the expressway on Rua Magalhães Bastos. Investigators suspect criminals tried to steal the victim’s car.

27/10/2022 – Three criminals, who were being chased, broke into a condominium in Cachambi, North Zone, and had a shooting with police inside the residential area. It all started after a robbery on the Linha Vermelha. Three criminals approached a driver at exit 4, close to Pilares, North Zone. The criminals managed to steal the car. Police officers in the area began chasing them. There was a shooting. And they only stopped at the entrance of a condominium on Avenida Dom Hélder Câmara. The criminals then invaded the condominium on foot and shot at the police officers. A criminal was arrested but two others managed to escape.

28/10/2022 – The Federal Highway Police (PRF) in partnership with the Military Police carried out an operation in the Chapadão Complex, North Zone. According to residents, a 14-year-old boy was hit in the head by a stray bullet and died. He was hit while making a delivery. The operation began after the death of the PRF officer, killed in an attempted robbery. The corporation aims to find the criminals who committed the crime and started in Vila Kennedy, then went to Complexo do Chapadão.