SAO PAULO — Police in Rio de Janeiro carried out raids in opposition to a prison group Friday that allegedly operated a clandestine ride-hailing app that generated month-to-month income of as much as 1 million reais (about $185,000), authorities mentioned. A minimum of 4 folks had been arrested.
Officers mentioned in a press release that Comando Vermelho, one in all Brazil’s most infamous prison organizations, coerced motorbike drivers into putting in a ride-hailing app developed by the group and utilizing it in Vila Kennedy, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro.
Greater than 300 drivers had been registered with the app, and the income was funneled by way of shell firms to finance drug trafficking operations.
Police have arrested 4 folks to date and executed 12 search and seizure warrants in Rio and neighboring cities. Authorities mentioned the ride-hailing operation was run by two well-structured teams: one which threatened and extorted drivers, and one other that collected the income and transferred them to the native drug lord.
Comando Vermelho, which interprets to Purple Command in English, is one in all Brazil’s oldest and largest prison gangs. Originating in Rio de Janeiro’s jail system within the late Seventies, the group has expanded its operations into different prison companies, together with worldwide cocaine trafficking, and it additionally controls territory in a number of of Rio’s working-class neighborhoods.
Armed teams that dominate these areas typically handle fundamental providers reminiscent of gasoline, web and transportation. Brazilian media just lately reported that Comando Vermelho has banned the usage of in style ride-hailing apps like Uber and 99 from working in sure areas.
Bike taxis are a longstanding and in style mode of transportation in Rio and different Brazilian cities. Uber launched its motorbike experience service in Rio in January 2023 and, two years later, the corporate mentioned in a press release that it had transported 3 million customers and registered 100,000 drivers.
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