Rio, May 12, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - An elite unit made up of around 30 to 50 police officers from various parts of the country and created by the federal government to operate in Rio de Janeiro to combat organized crime begins operations today. The creation of the unit was announced by the Minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos during a meeting with the governor of Rio, Rosinha Matheus, and the unit will include the best Federal Police personnel from across Brazil and will be under the direct command of Federal Police Director-General, Commissioner Paulo Lacerda.

The group will work mainly in the area of police intelligence, investigating the laundering of money derived from narcotraffic and arms smuggling, but it will also take part in field operations, whenever necessary. For the Minister, the group will serve as a model, so that the same standard can be adopted in other Brazilian states, whenever rapid and intelligent actions become necessary to combat crime. (DAS)