Overview

• Roughly 1,000 officers executed about 45 arrest warrants and some 270 search orders across Rio, São Paulo and Minas Gerais, according to police.
• Authorities report at least 45 people detained and more than 700 animals rescued, with some counts later citing 47 arrests and 800-plus animals.
• Investigators describe a multi-nodal operation with hunters, transporters, document forgers, a primate-focused cell and a weapons unit tied to drug groups.
• Teams faced gunfire in Mangueira, where a civil police officer was wounded and a suspect was hospitalized in serious condition, and officers seized a grenade, a rifle, a pistol, ammunition and an explosive belt.
• Police identified 145 suspects and named ex-state deputy TH Joias as an alleged primate buyer, while rescued animals are being treated at Cidade da Polícia before transfer to triage centers for reintroduction.