Drug trafficker Taillon de Alcântara Pereira Barbosa (left) and doctor Perseu de Almeida in images shared on social networks.
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro found this Friday the bodies of people suspected of murdering three doctors on the Barra da Tijuca promenade in Rio de Janeiro. The attack, carried out early Thursday morning, had a major impact in Brazil, also because one of the deceased is the brother of federal representative Sâmia Bomfim. Many considered it a political crime. Police have not yet ruled out any hypothesis, but there is now growing suspicion that the killers may have targeted the wrong target due to the similarity between one of the victims and a local drug dealer.
The bodies of the four suspects were found in two cars in a neighborhood near the crime scene. Two of them have already been identified: Philip Motta Pereira, known as Lesk, and Ryan Nunes de Almeida. The first led a militia (as paramilitary groups are called in Rio) in the Gardênia Azul neighborhood.
The doctors drank beer in a beach bar. They had arrived in Rio to attend a conference and went for a drink on the promenade right outside their hotel. Suddenly, within 20 seconds, the suspects got out of their vehicle and fired a volley of shots, killing three of them on the spot. A fourth was injured and is recovering in hospital; His life is not in danger.
Everything pointed to a contract execution, as there was no intent to rob or previous threats. The criminals didn’t say a word. The investigation suggests that the real target of the massacre was the execution of Taillon de Alcântara Pereira Barbosa, the son of Dalmir Pereira Barbosa, one of the main leaders of a militia that controls part of the western area of Rio. The local gangster’s son physically resembles one of the murdered doctors, Perseu Ribeiro Almeida.
Investigators believe Taillon was involved in the murder of one of Lesk’s allies, Paulo Aragão Furtado, known as Vin Diesel. Taillon was paroled on September 29th and has been in the spotlight ever since. In addition, according to the police, the militiaman was often in the bar where the murdered doctors were staying. The police also believe that the crime was not planned in advance, but that the killers received information about the whereabouts of the alleged victim and decided to act immediately.
According to the local press, the order to execute the perpetrators of the crime would have come from leaders of the main drug trafficking group in Rio, the Red Command (CV), who did not like the media coverage of the death of innocent people. The instruction was delivered after a video call that included the leadership of the group, which is being held at Bangu prison on the outskirts of Rio.
Join EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without restrictions.
Subscribe to
Crime and its consequences are part of the increasingly complex network of territorial control in Rio’s neighborhoods. The historical rivals, the militia and the drug trade, have been moving closer together for years and have sometimes joined forces against common rivals, in what some specialists are already calling “narcomilicia”. The distribution of power is sometimes decided through pacts, sometimes through bloodbaths.
One of the deceased doctors, Diego Ralf Bomfim, was the brother of MP Bomfim, one of the most combative left-wing lawmakers in the Brazilian Congress, who is also married to fellow MP Glauber Braga. The two belong to the Progressive Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), the same party as Marielle Franco; Rio city councilor assassinated in 2018.
The doctor’s relationship with the deputy raised alarm bells and many thought of a new political crime, but police and authorities urged caution. This Friday, another sister of the young politician, Dayane Raquel de Souza Bomfim, confided that the investigation will clarify what really happened: “We don’t know if they killed him because he was Sâmia’s brother, or if they “Killed him because he did wrong.” Place at the wrong time or some other hypothesis,” he said from the wake, demanding that there were no abuses or false news.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Xor in our weekly newsletter.