Sawt Falasteen - More than $2 mn in weapons seized in deadly Rio anti-drug raid: govt

On Tuesday, the massive police operation in two favela complexes left at least 117 suspected criminals and four police officers dead, according to the latest official tally.

The Rio de Janeiro state government announced "one of the largest seizures" of military weapons in a single day from the raid -- 120 weapons in all, including 93 rifles, valued at 12.8 million reais (about $2.4 million).

They also found ammunition, explosives, drugs and military equipment in the raid, which targeted Comando Vermelho, one of the oldest and most powerful gangs in the country, which controls large swathes of Rio de Janeiro.

According to authorities, some of the weapons come from other countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Germany, Peru, Russia and Venezuela, and included models used in conflict zones such as the AK-47 and the FAL.

Some rifles belong to foreign militaries.

"We are looking at an arsenal typical of a war scenario," Rio de Janeiro Civil Police Secretary Felipe Curi said in a statement.

Curi said authorities would investigate the routes used by criminal groups to bring the weapons to Rio de Janeiro.

The police raid has drawn condemnation from human rights organizations, and the United Nations has called for an investigation.

Relatives of some of the victims denounced summary executions. An AFP journalist on the scene saw a decapitated body.

Polls, however, show that the majority of Brazilians approved of the operation, which was described as a success against "narco-terrorism" by state Governor Claudio Castro.

Even leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, accused by critics of being soft on crime, has sought to project a tougher stance against the gangs in his response to the raid.

"We cannot accept that organized crime continues to destroy families, oppress residents, and spread drugs and violence throughout the cities," Lula wrote on the X social media platform.

He has presented a bill to Congress proposing a 30-year prison sentence for members of criminal gangs.

On Thursday, Lula signed new measures into law to strengthen the fight against organized crime.

H.Jarrar--SF-PST