BRUNA FANTTIRIO DE JANEIRO, RJ (FOLHAPRESS) - Survey by Core (Special Resources Coordination), of the Rio Civil Police, shows that streets and alleys in Complexo do Alemão, in the north zone of the city, have been covered by structures to possibly make monitoring by drones more difficult.
Complexo do Alemão, in Rio, has streets covered by roofs, and police see factional action against drones
BRUNA FANTTIRIO DE JANEIRO, RJ (FOLHAPRESS) - Survey by Core (Special Resources Coordination), of the Rio Civil Police, shows that streets and alleys in Complexo do Alemão, in the north zone of the city, have been covered by structures to...
There is also the case of a rooftop that now has a swimming pool. The buildings are concentrated in the central area of the complex, difficult to access, identified by the police as a possible hiding place for the leadership of the CV (Comando Vermelho).
- According to investigators, the roofs function as shielding against attacks with explosives launched by drones from rival factions, but they also compromise monitoring carried out by the...
- According to delegate Fabrício Oliveira, from Core, the most visible changes identified by the police are the barricades placed on the ground and the roof coverings erected on staircases,...
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The comparison between satellite images from November 2025 and aerial records from February 2026 reveals changes in the interval of 84 days - streets that previously appeared in the images were covered by roofs, an old parking lot gained coverage. There is also the case of a rooftop that now has a swimming pool.
The buildings are concentrated in the central area of the complex, difficult to access, identified by the police as a possible hiding place for the leadership of the CV (Comando Vermelho).
According to investigators, the roofs function as shielding against attacks with explosives launched by drones from rival factions, but they also compromise monitoring carried out by the police themselves.
According to delegate Fabrício Oliveira, from Core, the most visible changes identified by the police are the barricades placed on the ground and the roof coverings erected on staircases, alleys and streets.
"The initial purpose of the roof, in our opinion, is to prevent any type of filming and monitoring of them," said the delegate.
"They already placed tarpaulins in some areas, smoke pits, in some drug sales stalls, containments to protect them from being filmed either by aircraft or by drones. So it's an evolution of that, it's more robust and can also protect against attacks from rival groups," he said.
For the police, he adds, it is bad because it harms planning. "We end up not being able to visualize what is under that roof there, the operation becomes more risky."
The same coverage pattern was identified in Rebu, in Senador Camará, in the west zone. In April, the Civil Police and Niterói City Hall destroyed part of a similar structure in a community in the city.
Data from the Hotline shows the growth in complaints: the first report of a drone with a grenade was in 2023; in 2024, there were four; in 2025, the total jumped to 73 involving drug traffickers and another 14 related to militiamen.
In one of the cases, which occurred on Saturday (1st), two people who were assembling toys for a children's street party were injured after a drone dropped a bomb on the Dourados favela, in Cordovil, north of Rio, controlled by the CV and contested by the TCP (Terceiro Comando Puro).
According to the investigation, the Dourados favela is a target of the TCP, linked to Álvaro Malaquias Santa Rosa, Peixão, who dominates the Complexo de Israel" (Parada de Lucas, Cidade Alta, Vigário Geral, Pica-Pau and Cinco Bocas) and is a fugitive, without a lawyer.
The use of drones by factions has been monitored by the police since 2017, when the corporation identified Peixão's acquisition of the equipment to monitor rivals and public agents.
Given the increase in episodes, the Civil Police formalized on July 13 the creation of Coant, which brings together its own pilots and focuses intelligence work on drones. The structure has already existed since March, when the corporation purchased six Chinese drones, as part of a technology investment of R$2.1 million over two years.
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