Reporter Tortured, Slain by Drug Lord, Police Say
An undercover TV journalist reporting on crime and drugs in Rio de Janeiro’s shantytowns was tortured and put to death with a sword by a drug lord who runs his territory like a medieval fiefdom, police said.
Tim Lopes of Globo television was captured June 2 as he tried to infiltrate a dance party in northern Rio de Janeiro, where gangs sell drugs and stage illicit sex shows.
Lopes, 50, was taken to a nearby shantytown, where he was shot in the feet, brutally beaten and killed by drug lord Elias Pereira da Silva, police said. Gang members then burned Lopes’ body.
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