Brazil: At Least 64 Killed in Major Rio Drugs Raid

The police operation was one of the most violent in Brazil’s recent history, with human rights organisations calling for investigations into the deaths.

A massive raid on a drug-trafficking gang in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday sparked shootouts that left at least 60 suspects and four police officers dead, officials said.

The operation included officers in helicopters and armoured vehicles and targeted the notorious Red Command in the sprawling low-income favelas of Complexo de Alemao and Penha, police said.

At least 81 suspects were arrested, while 93 rifles and more than half a ton of drugs were seized, the state government said, adding that those killed “resisted police action.”

The operation was one of the most violent in Brazil’s recent history, with human rights organisations calling for investigations into the deaths.