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Police occupy 3 slums in ongoing security action

The Columbian
Published: January 6, 2011, 12:00am

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro’s police say they’ve taken over three adjacent slums as part of an ongoing program to increase security and clamp down on drug trafficking.

Police captain Ivan Blaz says the invasion by 200 elite police troops went peacefully. The communities had been warned of the action.

Police used armored cars to remove the few barriers that had been erected at the entrances to the communities prior to Thursday’s raids. Blaz says police found few criminals left in the shantytowns. A permanent police unit — the 14th in this peacekeeping program — will be established soon.

The slums are less than two miles from Maracana stadium, site of the final game of the 2014 World Cup and the major ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic games.

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