Like Doca, drug trafficker Rabicó, target of the Complexo do Salgueiro police operation, managed to escape; the action had no prisoners

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Despite the record number of shootings, there were no deaths, injuries or arrests. During the action, which the state government said was used to gather information that will be used in ongoing CV investigations, 25 tonnes of barricades were removed. Three stolen vehicles have been recovered. Two other cars and three motorcycles were seized, as well as an unknown quantity of drugs. This is the largest operation carried out in Rio de Janeiro since that which left 122 dead, including five agents, in the Alemão and Penha complexes on October 28, 2025.

— No faction will impose itself on the State of Rio de Janeiro. We fight organized crime in a firm, planned manner using the best technology and police intelligence. This operation shows that our security forces are united and ready to recover every territory dominated by fear and violence — said Governor Cláudio Castro.

This Thursday’s action involved police officers from the Special Operations Battalion, the Shock Battalion and the Special Resources Coordination (Core). They had the support of 20 armored vehicles, two planes, backhoe loaders to remove the barricades, 123 vehicles and four ambulances from the Rescue and Rescue Group, two of which were armored. Despite the large device being transferred from Rio to São Gonçalo, the Security Secretariat said it was not operating under the assumption that there was a leak in the operation.

Antônio Hilário Ferreira, 61, is the subject of four arrest warrants issued by the Rio de Janeiro Justice Court in his name, according to data from the National Council of Justice website. He was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison and served his sentence in a maximum security prison in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, until he received justice and was released in 2019. According to police, the drug trafficker is suspected of ordering thefts in São Gonçalo with the aim of raising funds for the faction. According to data from the Public Security Institute, from January to October of this year alone, 115 merchandise thefts were recorded in the municipality, compared to 70 occurring during the same period in 2024. The comparison reveals a 64% increase in cases of this type of crime. Cell phone thefts increased by 47% in the first ten months of 2025, compared to the same period last year, in São Gonçalo.

Due to the operation, on Thursday the Department of Education of São Gonçalo reported that six units of the Complexo do Salgueiro had suspended classes: Marinheiro Marcílio Dias, Pastor Haroldo Gomes, Salgado Filho, João Saldanha, Professor Niuma Goulart Brandão and Professor Umei Natalina Muniz de Oliveira. Seven health units are also not working.

A report from the Study Group on New Illegalisms of the Federal University of Fluminense (Geni/UFF) and the Fogo Cruzado Institute highlights that the Red Command continues to expand and advance steadily across the state. According to the study, four million people in the Rio metropolitan region live under the control or influence of organized crime – this faction represents more than 98% of the area under the control and influence of criminals. Rabicó is the leading CV name in the region.

Between 2016 and 2020 — a period described by researchers as a “great expansion,” marked by the collapse of the UPP and the state budgetary crisis — the territorial control of the CV increased, driven by the movement of its members towards the areas of Baixada and Leste Fluminense.

A little over five years ago, the Complexo do Salgueiro was the scene of a tragedy that claimed the life of a 14-year-old teenager, during a joint action by the federal and civil police. João Pedro Mattos Pinto was playing at home with friends on May 18, 2020, when, according to relatives, officers arrived shooting. The boy was shot in the back with a rifle and rescued by helicopter.