RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Investigators in Rio de Janeiro arrested 63 police officers and 11
alleged drug traffickers today after a year-long bribery probe and
ongoing efforts to stamp out police corruption ahead of the World Cup in
2014 and Summer Olympics in 2016.
The arrests, part of a crackdown on Rio's historically violent and
corrupt state police force, follow an investigation into bribes that
drug dealers allegedly paid to police officers so they could operate
without interference. The arrests were centered around Duque de Caxias,
one of the crime-ridden suburbs that make up the gritty outskirts of the
coastal metropolis.
The officers and others arrested were charged with crimes including
drug trafficking, corruption and kidnapping. The activities, state
police officials said, were carried out in the favelas, or slums, north
of central Rio.
Officials have gone to great lengths to clean up Rio and the
surrounding state of the same name before the international sporting
events, which are expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors.
surrounding state of the same name before the international sporting
events, which are expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors.
But the violence, corruption and drug trade that have plagued Brazil's
second-biggest city thrive in all but the few neighbourhoods where the
events will take place.
Combined with construction delays, missed budgets and a stagnant
Brazilian economy, security concerns add to growing uncertainty ahead of
the competitions. On Tuesday, officials at the International Olympic
Committee reminded Rio that "time is ticking" ahead of the games.
Source: Herald...More...
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