Rio de Janeiro: About 2500 Brazilian police and soldiers launched a massive raid on a drug-trafficking gang in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, arresting 81 suspects and sparking shootouts that left at least 64 people dead, officials said.

The operation included officers in helicopters and armoured vehicles and targeted the notorious “Red Command” gang in the sprawling low-income favelas of Complexo de Alemao and Penha, police said.

The state government said criminals had used drones to attack police in the Penha favela, sharing a video on X of what appeared to be a drone firing a projectile from the sky.

Rio de Janeiro State Governor Cláudio Castro told reporters the death toll, which included four police officers, was more than twice Rio’s most deadly previous police operation and may rise

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