Alex Rodrigues
The military men from the Navy, the Air Forces, and the Army making up the teams allowed to raid Brazilian prisons in search of illegal items seized drugs and over 2 thousand cold weapons and 271 cell phones.
The objects were found in ten jails across five states where authorities asked the Ministry of Defense for the support of the Armed Forces: Amazonas, Rondônia, Roraima, Rio Grande do Norte, and Mato Grosso do Sul.
The efforts in the first stage of Operation Sweep took place from January 17 to March 3 in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and Citizenship and the states’ public safety agencies, according to a report released Thursday (9) by the Ministry of Defense.
Also found were cell phone gadgets (160) and batteries (29), narcotic tablets (18), bundles with narcotics (45), containers with alcoholic beverages (6), suspicious substances (185), and items inmates are not allowed to carry, like money and appliances (3,038).
Three of the penitentiaries inspected provided the scene for rebellions and the murder of prisoners: the State Penitentiary of Alcaçuz, in the metropolitan region of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte; the Field Penitentiary of Monte Cristo, in rural Boa Vista, Roraima; and the Penitentiary Complex of Anísio Jobim, in Manays, Amazonas.
According to the report, some 4 thousand men from the Navy and the Army took part in the ten first operations. Modern equipment—like the machinery used in major events held in the country, such as the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games—were used in the raids, including X-ray metal detectors.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
