RIO DE JANEIRO, April 9 — Brazilian police on Wednesday seized a record 48 tons of marijuana in a favela in Rio de Janeiro, uncovered by chance by a sniffer dog during a regular operation against criminal factions.

During the operation in the Complexo da Mare, a large complex of favelas in the north of the city, a dog named Hulk indicated there was something suspicious under an abandoned water tank.

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.

He told AFP the seizure was the largest in Brazil’s history and “represents a financial loss of over 50 million reais (almost US$10 million; nearly RM39.87 million) for the criminal faction involved.”

“All of this was thanks to the work of the dog. It wasn’t based on intelligence.”

A military police statement said it took dozens of officers five hours to remove the drugs, which were transported in four trucks.

During the removal, officers came under fire from criminals “triggering a shootout” and leading to the arrest of a suspected gunman.

The previous record for the largest drug seizure in Brazil was in 2021 when highway police seized 36.5 tons in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

The police operation, launched Tuesday, involved 250 military police officers, who also seized five rifles, four pistols, and 26 stolen vehicles, including cars and motorcycles.

Large swaths of Rio de Janeiro – mainly low-income, densely populated communities – are under the control of criminal factions who engage in drug trafficking and other crimes. — AFP