Brazilian police, aided by a sniffer dog named Hulk, seized a record 48 tons of marijuana hidden beneath an abandoned water tank in Complexo da Maré. The five-hour operation involved about 250 officers and required four trucks to remove the haul, which authorities estimate is worth more than 50 million reais (nearly $10 million). Officers came under fire during the removal, prompting a shootout and the arrest of an alleged gunman.
Police Dog 'Hulk' Sniffs Out Record 48 Tons of Marijuana in Rio Favela
View of 48 tons of seized marijuana and weapons presented in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Pablo PORCIUNCULA)(Pablo PORCIUNCULA/AFP/AFP)
Brazilian police on Wednesday seized a record 48 tons of marijuana hidden in Complexo da Maré, a sprawling group of favelas in the north of Rio de Janeiro, after a police dog named Hulk alerted officers to a stash beneath an abandoned water tank.
Operation Details
The discovery came during a routine operation targeting criminal factions. A canine unit led officers to the abandoned tank, where an officer "discovered a bunker inside where this entire quantity of drugs had been hidden," said Lieutenant Colonel Luciano Pedro Barbosa, commander of the Canine Operations Battalion.
Barbosa described the seizure as the largest in Brazil's history and estimated it represented a financial loss of more than 50 million reais (nearly $10 million) for the criminal faction involved. "All of this was thanks to the work of the dog. It wasn't based on intelligence," he added, crediting the canine unit for the find.
Removal, Confrontation and Seizures
Dozens of officers spent about five hours extracting the drugs, which were loaded into four trucks for transport. During the removal, officers came under fire from suspected gang members, prompting a shootout and the arrest of an alleged gunman.
The broader operation, launched the previous day, involved roughly 250 military police officers and yielded five rifles, four pistols and 26 stolen vehicles, including cars and motorcycles.
Context
The previous record seizure in Brazil was 36.5 tons, intercepted in 2021 in Mato Grosso do Sul. Large areas of Rio de Janeiro—mainly low-income, densely populated communities—remain contested by criminal factions involved in drug trafficking and other crimes, making operations like this both risky and significant for public security efforts.
Key quote: "This represents a significant blow to the faction's finances and logistics," Lieutenant Colonel Barbosa said.
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