The Rio de Janeiro Civil Police launched an operation to dismantle the Astro Team, the armed wing of the Red Command responsible for invasions and territorial expansion of the faction in areas of the city's Southwest Zone. The action was carried out by Draco/IE (Special Inquiries and Organized Crime Actions Police Station) and executed search and seizure and arrest warrants mainly in the Gardênia Azul and Cidade de Deus communities.
The operation is a follow-up to previous investigations that had already identified Pierre Sá da Silva, known as PQD, killed in a confrontation during the first phase of the police action. The investigations revealed that PQD had military training and passed on this knowledge to drug trafficking members, providing tactical instructions to the faction's criminals.
With the dismantling of the Astro Team, authorities seek to interrupt the activities of the armed group that had been promoting invasions and expanding the Red Command's territorial control in the southwestern region of Rio de Janeiro.
