Brazil: Prison Intervention Taskforce finds weapons in Alcaçuz prison

Men from Brazil's Prison Intervention Taskforce and the Special Operations Group of the police (GOE) have found a handgun and numerous cold weapons today (Jan 27) during an operation to regain control of Alcaçuz State Penitentiary in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.

The operation, which has been dubbed “Phoenix”, was launched early in the morning, and is the first in the Penitentiary Intervention Taskforce's mission in the state. In addition to regaining control of Pavilion 4 and 5, which have been dominated by members of the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC, the Portuguese acronym for “First Capital Command”) gang, the operation has also engaged inmates from Pavilions 1, 2 and 3, occupied by members of another gang, the Sindicato do Crime RN (“RN Crime Union”, where RN stands for the state's initials), in the efforts to rebuild the prison unit and collect debris.

Police removed flags of the gangs and hoisted the national and state flags instead. The first building materials for the construction have also been delivered. Members of the GOE have left Alcaçuz, but officers from the federal force remain deployed.

The taskforce was set up by the Ministry of Justice in response to a spate of riots and killings in Brazil's prisons. On Thursday (Jan 25), a group of 78 prison officers arrived in Rio Grande do Norte to assist the operations. They will remain there for 30 days.

On January 14, a riot broke out in Alcaçuz leaving 26 dead. Detainees affiliated with the two rival gangs involved were separated with an improvised container barrier until a brick wall can be built to separate the pavilions.

Translated by Mayra Borges