2023-12-26 04:48:00
‘Zinho’, the head of the largest parapolice group in Rio de Janeiro.
Luis Antonio da Silva Braga, alias ‘Zinho’, the head of the largest parapolice group in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, surrendered to the Federal Police on Sunday after a “negotiation,” official sources reported this Monday.
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‘Zinho’, who was a fugitive from Justice since 2018, is considered “the leader” of the parapolice group, made up of corrupt agents and former agents, that “dominates” the western area of the city of Rio, according to the Police in a note. released last midnight.
He was one of the most wanted criminals in the state of Fluminense and a priority target of regional governor Cláudio Castro, who has adopted a ‘tough hand’ strategy against organized crime and went so far as to call ‘Zinho’ “enemy number 1.”
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There were twelve prison orders on ‘Zinho’ and his delivery and subsequent arrest is the result of “negotiations between the bosses of the fugitive militiaman with the Federal Police and the Public Security Secretariat of Rio.”
”The detainee appeared at the Regional Superintendency of the Federal Police in Rio. After the formalities derived from his arrest, he was taken to the Legal Medical Institute and later transferred to a prison, where he will remain at the disposal of Justice,” the entity noted in the note.
‘Zinho’, who was a fugitive from the Brazilian Justice since 2018, is considered “the leader” of the parapolice group, made up of corrupt agents and former agents (EFE/FILE)
The executive secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, Ricardo Cappelli, congratulated the Federal Police on his social networks: “It is work, work and work.”
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The vigilante groups have imposed a regime of terror in some neighborhoods of Rio, where they commit homicides and extort residents by charging “taxes” for services such as transportation, the purchase of gas pipettes or even internet access.
They have also become distributors of illicit drugs and firearms in the areas they control, and have ties to regional and municipal politics.
On Monday of last week, the regional deputy of Río Lúcia Helena Pinto was suspended from her position within the framework of a police operation for alleged links with the criminal group commanded by ‘Zinho’.
Brazilian authorities suspect that the legislator, known as the ‘Godmother’ in the world of crime, and her advisor participated “actively” to “serve the interests” of the gang.
The vigilante groups have imposed a regime of terror in some neighborhoods of Rio (EFE/ARCHIVE)
Militias are a criminal phenomenon that occurs mainly in the state of Rio de Janeiro, although in recent years they have expanded to other territories. They are paramilitary groups that dispute with organized crime the profits from extortion and drug trafficking.
The majority of them are made up of police officers and former police officers, as well as former agents of other security forces. They dominate large areas that are understood to be dozens of neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, fighting for control of the territory with military weapons, which they usually steal from the authorities’ own arsenals.
In mid-October of this year, the ‘Zinho’ militia collapsed the public transport service in the West Zone of Rio by burning around thirty buses and a train in retaliation for the death of his nephew, Matheus da Silva Rezende, alias ‘Faustao’, during a clash with the Police.
(with information from EFE and EP)
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