RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian police backed by troops have occupied a massive slum next to Rio de Janeiro’s international airport without firing a shot to secure one of the city’s most violent neighbourhoods long run by drug dealers.
Wresting control of the area from drug lords was a security priority for authorities because it surrounds the expressway to Galeao airport where tens of thousands of people will arrive in June for the soccer World Cup.
Marines in armoured cars reinforced the operation on Sunday that took barely 20 minutes to re-establish police control over the Mare slum complex, where 130,000 people live in poverty on the north side of Rio.
Police said they seized guns and 450 kilograms of marijuana and arrested two suspected dealers. Residents said most drug traffickers slipped out the slum ahead of the occupation, which was announced on Friday.
