Brazil News
| SAO PAULO – Tuesday morning, Military Police (PM) raided the central Sao Paulo area known as Crackland, where addicts and dealers gather to consume and sell crack cocaine. Over 100 officers took part in the operation, according to Colonel Pedro Borges, which choked off traffic in the region.
Police Raid Crackland (Photo: terra.com.br/Paduardo/Futura Press)
After police surrounded the area, the majority of addicts were taken to the square in front of the nearby Ninth of July Station. Some of the addicts, however, threw stones at vehicles and rushed at the gathered press. A trail of improvised pipes that addicts use to smoke the drug could be seen. By late morning, the police made two arrests for major trafficking, arrested a fugitive, collected two toy guns, stolen radios and ten motorcycle carcasses.
“The first thing we want to accomplish is to stop the drug trafficking,” Borges told terra.com.br. The second goal of the police operation is to restore urban order: there were so many drug users in the streets that many people were afraid to pass by. Then the police intend to create an environment where social workers will be safe coming in to offer support services to addicts.
After the police operation, city cleanup crews began carting off abandoned property. Tanker trucks came in and workers began cleaning the streets with high-pressure hoses. The next phase of the operation is to bring in workers to provide medical, social and legal assistance to the addicts.
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Source(s) for this article: terra.com.br
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