Rio de Janeiro — already notorious for street muggings, corrupt politicians, ruthless militias, and Kalashnikov-toting drug traffickers — has a new public enemy: plushies. Specifically, the joystick-controlled claw machines that dispense them.
Rio police executed 16 search warrants targeting these machines, claiming they defraud users by presenting a game of skill when, in reality, they are games of chance, akin to slot machines, and therefore illegal. The police seized claw machines, electronic devices, a firearm, and stuffed animals, suspecting organized crime involvement due to their existing control over slot machines and a popular lottery in the city.
