Police in Brazil have significantly bolstered security measures in anticipation of Prince William’s visit to Rio following a violent day in the city. A total of 64 individuals, including four police officers, lost their lives on Tuesday, while 80 suspects were apprehended in an effort to curb the expansion of the notorious gang Comando Vermelho. The government is urgently seeking to capture the gang’s leader before William’s scheduled arrival on Friday for the Earthshot prize ceremony. Today, armed units were part of a massive manhunt for the gang boss Edgard Alves Andrade, also known as Urso, accused of over 100 murders.
Sources revealed that security was already heightened with the impending arrival of Prince William and other dignitaries in Rio. However, in light of the recent surge in violence due to intergang conflicts, authorities have deployed thousands more officers and military personnel to ensure safety during William’s stay in Brazil.
Andrade, identified as a key figure in the Red Command gang, managed to evade capture during a large-scale police operation involving 2,500 officers in two Rio de Janeiro slums. He remains at large, with a £14,000 reward now offered for information leading to his arrest, the largest bounty ever provided by Disque Denuncia.
The notorious criminal Alves has been linked to various heinous crimes, including a triple murder in 2023 where three doctors were mistakenly targeted in Rio’s Tijuca area. Additionally, he is suspected of orchestrating the killings of hitmen involved in the doctors’ deaths, whose bodies were discovered shortly after the incident.
Alves, labeled as Rio’s most wanted criminal by local media, is also implicated in the disappearance and alleged murder of three children from Belford Roxo in Rio de Janeiro. Despite investigations, the bodies of the missing children have never been recovered. Alves, who hails from Paraiba in northeast Brazil but grew up in Rio’s volatile favelas, has been evading authorities since his escape from prison in 2017.
The ongoing manhunt for Alves underscores the gravity of the situation, with a significant focus on apprehending him due to his extensive criminal activities. Rio governor Claudio Castro emphasized the severity of the situation, describing it as a form of narco-terrorism rather than typical criminal activities. The coordinated efforts to track down Alves highlight the determination to bring him to justice and restore peace in the region.