The death toll in a massive police raid targeting a drug trafficking gang in Rio de Janeiro rose to at least 121 people, authorities said Thursday.
An operation launched Tuesday in two of the city’s favelas sparked intense gunbattles that left at least four police officers dead and an unknown number of people wounded.
Brazil’s public defender’s office filed a request Thursday with the Supreme Court requesting access to the forensic evidence concerning the police victims. The office reports 130 deaths in the raid, more than the official police numbers.
Human rights organizations have called for investigations into the deaths, describing the operation as one of the most violent in Brazil’s recent history.
Police said that the raid followed a yearlong investigation into the Red Command criminal gang, which controls drug trafficking and other illicit activities in the low-income communities of Complexo do Alemao and Penha. The group originated in Rio’s prison system and has expanded its influence in recent years.
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