Clampdown as police storm Rio’s shanty town drug capital

Brazilian police backed by armoured military vehicles have invaded Rio de Janeiro’s biggest slum.

Hundreds of black-clad, rifle-carrying officers began swarming into the Rocinha shanty town early yesterday.

Experts say it is the most important step yet in bringing security to Rio de Janeiro before it hosts matches in the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

About 100,000 people live in Rocinha, which is the biggest drug distribution point in Rio. The slum straddles a green mountainside above upmarket neighbourhoods.

The action is part of a policing programme that sees elite police units force heavily armed drug gangs from shanty towns they have controlled for decades, before authorities set up a permanent police presence.

Officials are counting on the major sporting events to signal Brazil’s arrival as a global economic, political and cultural power.

Paulo Storani, a security consultant and former captain in the elite BOPE police unit leading the raid, said: “Rocinha is one of the most strategically important points for police to control in Rio de Janeiro.”

The Rocinha slum is home to about 100,000 people living in flimsy shacks.