RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro police say they've arrested the former chief drug dealer of a notorious slum located five miles from this city's iconic Maracana stadium.
A police press release said Everton Mesquita was arrested Saturday night inside the Morro dos Macacos slum. The shantytown is southwest of the stadium, where some events of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games will be held.
Drug gangs in Morro dos Macacos shot down a police helicopter in October 2009, two weeks after the International Olympic Committee awarded the games to Rio. Three police were killed, and 21 people died in a related shootout between gangs and police.
The police news release says Mesquita had fled the slum but was caught there when he returned for his niece's birthday party.
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