Brazil's police say they have completed an operation to clear Rio de Janeiro's biggest slum, Rocinha, of drug gangs.

Hundreds of special forces police and navy commandos backed by armoured military vehicles and helicopters moved into the slum before dawn.

The chief of military police said "there were no incidents and no shots were fired" during the operation.

Police are trying to clear Rio's shantytowns of drug gangs ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Since 2008, they have occupied some 20 slums, or favelas, to drive out the dealers who controlled the areas.

"I have the pleasure to inform you that Rocinha and Vidigal [a neighbouring favela] are under our control," chief of military police Alberto Pinheiro Neto told a news conference.

"There were no incidents and no shots were fired. We don't have any information on arrests or weapons seized."

He said the two favelas had been under their control since 06:00 local time (08:00 GMT) and the streets - which had been shut a few hours before the operation began - would soon reopen.

The AFP news agency reported that a few residents watched from their windows as the troops advanced through the deserted streets of Rocinha.

Residents spoken to by the AFP said they supported the move, hoping it would bring better conditions and prospects as well as ridding the favela of criminals.

However, some women were seen crying as the troops moved in, suggesting not everyone supported the operation.

Police had openly announced their plan to move into Rocinha - which is officially home to some 70,000 people, although is widely thought to have considerably more residents.

Some of the favela's residents left the area on Wednesday, as police began setting up checkpoints at entrances to the slum district, which is located close to tourist areas in Rio's south zone.

They scored an early success on Thursday when they arrested alleged drugs kingpin Antonio Francisco Bonfim Lopes - widely known as "Nem" - as he tried to escape Rocinha in the boot of a car.

The driver of the vehicle tried to claim diplomatic immunity, saying he was the honorary consul of the Democratic Republic of Congo, police said.

He then offered a bribe worth $570,000 (£358,000), they added, but officers refused and opened the boot to discover the hidden suspect.

Nem was one of Rio's most wanted suspects and his arrest was described as a "historic moment" by the city's state security secretary Jose Mariano Beltrame.

The police operation to clear the favelas involves special forces, known as BOPE, moving in to take on the traffickers. Police then establish a permanent base in the favela with officers trained in community policing.

City officials also move in to provide services such as healthcare and electricity.

Pacification has been generally welcomed in favelas, where residents have seen a drop in crime.

But there have been complaints about the behaviour of some of the troops and police involved, with local people reporting excessive violence or abuse of authority.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.

La police brésilienne cible les gangs de drogues dans le plus grand bidonville de Rio

To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Beckley Foundation published a public letter calling for a new approach in drug policy. The letter was published in British press in the Guardian, was written about by the Telegraph and the Daily Mail and received publicity in Polish press. Signed by a group of 60 major thinkers, Nobel Prize winners and celebrities including Sting, Yoko Ono and seven former presidents, this letter calls on members of the public and of Parliament to recognize that "improving our drug policies is one of the key policy challenges of our time."

The letter with a full list of signatories can be found on the Beckley Foundation's newly launched website for the Global Initiative for Drug Policy Reform.

La guerre mondiale contre les drogues a échoué, il est temps de revoir notre approche 

This December, IDPC will be participating in the 2011 International Conference on HIV/AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), which will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Our objective is to promote humane and effective drug policy and harm reduction measures in the face of increasing drug related problems in Africa.

On Tuesday 6th December, IDPC, in collaboration with Harm Reduction International and the Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO), will organise a satellite session entitled 

"Putting health and human rights at the centre of drug policy: Recommendations from the Global Commission on Drug Policy"

During the session, the speakers will outline developments in HIV prevention policies and programmes for people who use drugs in the region with a specific focus on Kenya and Mauritius. The session will also be a forum to share ideas, discuss good practice and innovative approaches towards the legislative reform of drug policies appropriate for the African context. The session will be followed by a reception, enabling the participants to network after the event. Please, read the flyer below for more information.

Please join us at the Satellite and share the information among your contacts!

Time: Tuesday, 6th December 2011, 17:30-19:00
Location: B7 Hall ‘Sof Omer’, ICASA venue, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

L’IDPC participe à ICASA! 

Global Drug Survey has launched the annual Mixmag Drug Survey in partnership with The Guardian, which is anticipated to be the world's biggest, most comprehensive drug survey ever conducted.

Receiving over 7000 responses in the first 48 hours alone, the anonymous online survey addresses how people are using illegal drugs as well as alcohol, tobacco and prescription medications. The survey combines basic information on what drugs people use, how often they take them, and the medical, social and legal consequences of drug use. It also explores various issues in depth, including attitudes towards buying drugs online, being caught in the possession of drugs and emerging drug trends.

Created by consultant addictions psychiatrist and researcher Dr Adam Winstock (who has run the Mixmag survey as a predominantly UK-based project for over a decade) the reach of this year’s survey has already received responses from the USA, Australia, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Thailand, Denmark, Brazil, Poland and even Malawi and Benin in the first two days alone.

Dr Winstock sees the drug survey as a vital tool in understanding the reality behind drug use, “This study will provide an honest description of how people interact with drugs the impact that their use has upon people and their friends. Whilst most drug surveys focus on dependent drug users or those involved in criminal justice, rarely is there a focus on that vast majority of other people who use drugs - the hidden masses. This year’s findings will reflect current drug use patterns as they really are - exploring the good, the bad and the ugly.”

The survey is run by Global Drug Survey, is entirely anonymous and takes 20-25 minutes to complete. You can access the survey here.

You can read Mixmag's Global Drug Survey’s results from the 2011 and 2010 surveys here.

Global Drug Survey is an independent data-mapping agency that receives no government funding.

Actualités

La police brésilienne cible les gangs de drogues dans le plus grand bidonville de Rio

La guerre mondiale contre les drogues a échoué, il est temps de revoir notre approche

L’IDPC participe à ICASA!

Lancement du Sondage Mondial sur la Drogue