Police investigate video showing armed man distributing candy to children in Rio favela

The Rio Civil Police analyzes a video circulating on social media where an armed man, wearing a shirt with the inscription “Troop of Belão” distributes sweets to children. According to the post, the distribution would have taken place over the Easter weekend in Favela do Quitungo, a community located between the neighborhoods of Penha and Brás de Pina, in the North Zone of the capital. A trusted man of Edgar Alves de Andrade, Doca, a member of the leadership of the criminal faction Comando Vermelho (CV), Belão is suspected of commanding drug trafficking in Quitungo, according to investigations by the 38th DP (Brás de Pina).

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Formed by housing complexes built in the 1970s, built to accommodate residents of a favela removed from the South Zone, the Quitungo community has been the scene of violence and shootings. For at least a year, the favela has had territories disputed by the Doca gang and the gang of drug dealer Álvaro Malaquias Santa Rosa, known as Peixão. The latter occupies one of the first echelon posts of the third Comando Puro (TCP) faction. Rival of the CV, the criminal group controls drug trafficking in the communities of Vigário Geral, Parada de Lucas and Cidade Alta, a region named by Peixão as Complexo de Israel. Due to the war, in January, three people were kidnapped in Quitungo. One of them was murdered and two are still missing. The dispute between the rival gangs would also have led to the expulsion of two families.

Investigations reveal that the location of the community is considered strategic by both groups. The reasons range from providing access to Avenida Brasil and the Penha communities (controlled by the CV) to the proximity to the Israel Complex. Between January 4th and 14th, the dispute led to three victims being kidnapped. The three people taken by bandits are Wagner Santana Vieira, 36, Wagner Motta Neves, 33, and Paulo Victor Viera de Souza, 16. The cases took place separately, on the streets of Morro do Quitungo. Only the first was found, already dead, in Duque de Caxias, in Baixada Fluminense.

One of the missing, Paulo was participating in a kite festival near the Brás de Pina station when he was captured and taken away by men using motorcycles, on January 14th. Célia Oliveira, the teenager’s mother, said that her son is not a criminal and that she suffers without news about the young man.

— I’ve been without a solution for two months. I’m not living, I’m vegetating. Everything in the house reminds me of my son. I can’t even open the closet. His clothes are there, everything reminds me of my son. He has no involvement in anything wrong. He doesn’t use drugs, cigarettes, anything. My son even studied and was in his first year of high school. He was going to start in a mechanic shop the same month he disappeared — said Célia.

A suspect involved in Paulo’s kidnapping was arrested by the PM and taken to the 38th DP. He preferred to remain silent when questioned. One of the hypotheses that the police are working on is that the kidnappers are members of the Belão gang. The motivation for the crimes is still being investigated, but it is already known that one of the victims was taken simply because he lived in a community controlled by the rival gang.

When contacted, the Civil Police said that the images are being analyzed to identify and hold criminally responsible those involved in criminal groups operating in the region. According to the police, regarding the case of Paulo Victor’s kidnapping, investigations continue to be carried out to clarify the facts.