Martial Arts Practitioners of Southern Rio Gather to Attack Thieves

09/22/2015 - 10h07

In another weekend with large-scale beach plunders in Rio, a group of young people decided to take the law into their own hands.

About 30 men, most of them practitioners of martial arts, conducted "raids" on buses connecting the suburbs to the neighborhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema, in the southern area.

They were seeking "boys using flip-flops, looking like they don´t have R$ 1 (U$ 0.25) on their pockets", in the words of one of them.

"Obviously they want to rob. They spread terror, we'll spread it as well. It is self-defense", said Antônio, 27, who works as a store salesman and lives in Copacabana.

He and Daniel, 31, agreed to talk with Folha on Monday (21), near a neighborhood gym where they practice jiu jitsu, under the condition that their last names wouldn't be disclosed.

On Sunday (20), the group stopped a line 472 bus, with a route that goes between Leme (south area) and Triagem (north area), on Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana.

Images made by residents with mobile cameras showed when a minor is taken away from the bus and receives a series of punches and kicks. Police had to intervene to prevent the lynching.

The group members promise to repeat the "raids" next weekend.

"We don't beat them up. We want to show that we are not hostages. The police officers supported us. The proof is that they didn't arrest us. This is the third weekend we do it", says Daniel, while sipping a glass of milk mixed with a protein supplement.

The Military Police said that eight minors were detained after a gang looting on Arpoador beach (south zone), on Sunday (20).

Translated by DENISE MOTA

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	Marcelo Carnaval/Agência O Globo
	About 30 men conducted "raids" on buses connecting the suburbs to the neighborhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema