Brazilian Police Kill 25 Members of Alleged Criminal Group Responsible in Countrywide Bank Heists
Brazilian police have killed 25 suspects in a warlike operation against heavily armed bank robbers whose brazen heists have brought several major cities in Brazil to a standstill.
Organized Crime Group and Brazilian Police Encounter
Based on the report of The Guardian, the alleged members of a criminal group responsible for bank heists in Brazil were gunned down in the early hours of Sunday. The operation occurred in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, where the Brazilian police claimed that they had been poised to unleash their offense.
According to Washington Post, the Brazilian police have killed at least 25 individuals in a warlike operation against a heavily armed criminal gang. It was considered as an escalation in Brazil's ongoing struggle against sophisticated criminal groups that executed elaborate bank heists in the southern portion of the country.
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Well-Financed Crime Group in Brazil
Authorities said that they have launched the operation after they have learned that the criminal group planned another bank robbery in the city of Varginha in Minas Gerais state. Brazilian Police said that the group had holed up in two locations in Varginha, and opened fire on them shortly after their arrival on the location on Sunday morning.
Highway police spokesperson, Aristides Amaral Junior, shared during an interview that the alleged members of a criminal group had weapons of war, including a supply of gasoline and explosives. The spokesperson also clarified that their idea was to make arrests, but from the moment that the suspects recognized their presence, the fight started.
Authorities said that they have found a huge stockpile of high-caliber rifles, explosives, bulletproof vests, stolen vehicles, and other weapons.
Moreover, the police said they were trying to prevent another episode of what people were calling "the new banditry."
The operations of the criminal group were flawless, executing bank heists that were elaborately planned, well-choreographed. The bank robbers were well-financed by professional criminal groups because their members were equipped with the weaponry and gadgetry of war.
Since banks were full of cash mostly during the end of the month, dozens of heavily armed gang members stormed midsize cities at night, setting off explosives, shooting security's weapons into the air, and lighting cars on fire.
Meanwhile, criminal analysts here said that the idea was to overwhelm authorities with an overpowering display of force.
The heavily armed criminal group tied their hostages to some of the getaway cars after storming the Brazilian city.
The death toll Sunday underscored the extraordinary violence Brazilian police were willing to use during their operations.
Furthermore, in May, police killed at least 25 people in an early-morning police raid on a criminal gang that held control over a favela in Rio de Janeiro.
However, the incident has led to allegations of summary executions and unlawful killings, which police have denied.
Rio De Janeiro police were ordered to limit favela raids during the pandemic, but they were still killing hundreds of people.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Jess Smith
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