The police operation that affected the routine of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and generated rejection of the institution, leaving at least one person dead. A note released by the Civil Police indicates that he is one of the drug managers in the Mandela favela, which is part of the Manguinhos Complex. According to the text, he was shot by the police during an exchange of gunfire.
The death toll could be higher. The Civil Police say that two criminals were shot and fell into the river that runs through the region. They are targets of searches with divers. Another person injured during the clashes was rescued and taken to a hospital. No information was provided about his health status.
Conducted by the Civil Police, the operation began this Wednesday morning (8) and was criticized by Fiocruz, whose campus is next to the Manguinhos Complex. The scientific institution, linked to the Ministry of Health, shared a note denouncing that the agents involved entered its facilities unidentified without prior communication and without asking for authorization.
During the movement, a bullet hit the glass of one of the walls of the Institute of Immunobiological Technology, where Fiocruz vaccines and other medicines are manufactured. An employee was injured by shrapnel and needed medical attention.
Furthermore, according to Fiocruz, a supervisor from the company that provides surveillance services on campus and was helping to vacate and close off some areas to ensure the safety of employees and students was arrested on charges of providing cover for fleeing criminals. In the note, the institution classified the Civil Police’s action as “arbitrary” and considered that the lives of workers, researchers and students were put at risk. “Until early afternoon, the Civil Police operation continued inside Fiocruz”, adds the text.
The movement took place within the scope of Operation Tourniquet, which aims to combat theft and reception of cargo, thus undermining the financing of the activities of criminal factions. According to the Civil Police note, four firearms and varying amounts of cocaine, crack, marijuana, skunk and perfume were seized.
A criminal who was the subject of an arrest warrant was located and detained and two outsourced employees who provide services for Fiocruz were arrested in the act and taken to give a statement.
“The investigation that begins from this will indicate whether there was spontaneous collaboration with drug trafficking, since images show a vehicle in the service of the institution helping criminals escape”, says the text. The note also points out that drug traffickers often seek shelter in public buildings and cites an episode from 2011, when five men on the run from justice were arrested inside Fiocruz when they tried to use the campus as an escape route.
The Civil Police also claims that those who put the population at risk are criminals and states that the shot that hit the Institute of Immunobiological Technology was fired by individuals linked to the faction that operates in the region.
Repudiation
The Fiocruz Workers Union (Asfoc) also repudiated the police movement. In a statement, the entity said it was unacceptable for operations to be carried out putting the physical and emotional integrity of those present at the institution at risk.
“Hundreds of campus visitors were under threat, such as suppliers, consultants and external researchers, in addition to the vast majority of patients seeking care, who are quite vulnerable, including the elderly and babies. To make matters worse, dozens of children, sons and daughters of employees, who participate in the union’s Summer Camp”, records the text.
