Hundreds of Brazilian police, navy commandoes, armored military vehicles and helicopters overtook Brazil's biggest slum in Rio de Janeiro Sunday in an attempt to clear it of its drug gangs, BBC News reported.
The Star Tribune reports that according to authorities, it took only 90 minutes to seize control of the area and no shots were fired in the process.
This ambitious operation was an effort to increase security before Rio hosts the final matches of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Rio has more than 1,000 shantytowns that are inhabited by one-third of the city's 6 million population, the Star Tribune reported.
According to the Star Tribune, officials said that the success of the operation was made possible by months of intelligence gathering and the arrest of one of the slum's top drug lords, Antonio Bonfim Lopes.
While some Rio residents are pleased with the operation, other local people report excessive violence or abuse of authority and are unsure as to whether the takeover of Brazilian Special Forces, known as BOPE, will be a good thing, BBC news reported.
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