At least eight people were killed on Friday during a dawn police raid in Rio de Janeiro's Vila Cruzeiro favela, local police said, adding the operation targeted a major drug dealer.
According to the police, Chico Bento is part of Rio's largest criminal organization and was reportedly hiding in Vila Cruzeiro having fled there from Jacarezinho, a favela occupied by police earlier this year as authorities vowed a renewed effort to bring security and public services to the city's violent slums.
