Walmart Director Arrested for Expired Goods

Scanned Price Discrepancies Also a Problem

SAO PAULO, Brazil – The director of a Walmart store, located in Vila Leopoldina in the Western Zone of the city of Sao Paulo, was arrested by Civilian Police (PC) late on Friday.

Clean Up the World Day in the Amazon

by Michael Hone

800 Volunteers to Clean Capitol's Beaches and Rivers

MANAUS, Brazil - Over 800 volunteers have signed up to participate in the Clean Up the World Day event in the capital of Amazonia. The volunteers will clean up the beaches and creeks along the city's riverfront.

Update: Highway of Immigrants Reopens

SP-150 Reopens Friday After Thursdays Mega-Pileup

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Authorities reopened northbound lanes of Immigrants highway SP-150 after Thursday's mega-crash. On the advice of the toll-road operator, Ecovias, police released traffic onto the roadway at 11:30 am Friday. The highway was closed since 12:50 pm on Thursday when 270 vehicles became involved in a pileup, apparently because of poor visibility due to heavy fog.

Brazil Approves Transgenic Soy

Government Research Institute Produces Transgenic Soy Seed

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Governmental regulators have approved the injection of science into the domestic bean crop. The National Technical Bio-safety Commission approved on Thursday, the first genetically modified product developed by Brazilian national public institutions: transgenic soy.

Transgenic Soy (photo: O Globo)

Dilma and Barack to Meet at UN

Brazil News

| BRASILIA - The president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff and the American president, Barack Obama, will meet next Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly. President Rousseff's spokesman, Rodrigo Baena, said that the president will arrive in New York on Sunday and Monday will attend a meeting on noncommunicable diseases and a symposium on the role of women in politics, both organized by the UN.

Nigerian With Cocaine Arrested at Airport

Almost Five Kilos Hidden in Candy

SAO PAULO, Brazil - The Federal Police (PF) arrested a Nigerian man Thursday morning with cocaine while he was going through security at Guarulhos International Airport. The man tried to catch a flight to Doha (Qatar) with nearly five kilos of the drug hidden in lollipop packages inside his carry on luggage.

Updated: Fifty Vehicle Pileup Kills Two on SP-150

by Michael Hone

Highway Patrol Closes Road After Accident

Update: (6:30 pm local time) Police are now saying that as many as 300 vehicles were involved in the pileup on the SP-150 Immigrants Highway this afternoon. The highway will remain closed while authorities search for more victims. Police expect the death toll to rise. There is no word on when the highway will reopen.

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A pileup involving about 50 vehicles, including cars, buses and trucks, completely blocked the Highway of Immigrants. According to the toll road concessionaire that operates the highway, Ecovias, the accident occurred at km 41 in Sao Bernardo do Campo at about 12:50 pm Thursday, reports O Globo Online.

Major Operation Against Smugglers in South

Federal Police Conduct Operation “Marco 334” in Southern States

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Federal Police (PF) in Mato Grosso do Sul set out early Wednesday to arrest five gangs of Paraguayan cigarette smugglers. The groups were operating on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, near the towns of Eldorado and Mundo Novo. Smugglers were sending the contraband to the states of Sao Paulo, Parana, Minas Gerais and Goias.

Operation Marco 334 (photo: douradosagora.com.br)

Irishman Arrested with 1k Cocaine in Gut

Brazil News

| SAO PAULO – Federal Police (PF) at Congonhas International Airport in Sao Paulo arrested a 20-year-old Irishman on Wednesday with cocaine hidden inside his body. According to PF, the young man boarded a flight to Brussels, with stops in Rio de Janeiro and Lisbon, while hiding 72 capsules of cocaine weighing 830 grams in his stomach.

Cocaine in intestinal tract (photo: O Globo)

Man Sentenced for Killing His Dog

Brazil News

| PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil – A court in the State of Rio Grande do Sul sentenced a man to prison for beating his dog to death with an iron bar. The court sentenced the man to five months and ten days imprisonment and fined him.

Guilty! (photo: dreamstime.com)

Woman Accused of Stabbing Husband to Death

Husband found dead in ravine

RIO DE JANEIRO – A woman was arrested Tuesday morning suspected of murdering her husband in the Morro do Fallet favela, or slum, in the Santa Teresa area of Rio.

Murder in Morro do Fallet (photo: Meia Hora)

Six Arrested in Drug Trafficking Probe

Lawyer among those detained in operation

SAO PAULO - Six people, including a lawyer, were arrested by Civil Police (PC) in Aracatuba early on Tuesday, accused of belonging to a drug trafficking group operated by the First Capitol Command (PCC) gang.

Bolivian Couple Arrested Running Sweat Shop

Authorities Allege Slave Labor

SAO PAULO, Brazil – A Bolivian couple has been arrested allegedly utilizing slave labor in a sweatshop they owned on Three Rivers Street in the Bom Retiro neighborhood of the capitol. The man is 34-years-old and his wife.

Mom Turns Boy In After Teens Burglarize Bakery

Boys Spend the Loot on Drugs

SAO PAULO, Brazil – A 17-year-old was arrested after burglarizing a bakery in Suzano, in Metropolitan Sao Paulo yesterday.

Buyback Campaign Collects 22,200 Firearms

Federal Gun Control Program Pays $60 to $180 Per Weapon

BRASILIA - Between May and early September, the government collected 22,200 firearms across the country, according to a report issued by the National Campaign for Disarmament released Monday by the Ministry of Justice.

Woman Set Ablaze by Ex-Husband

Suffers Second Degree Burns After Quarrel with Ex

BELO HORIZONTE, Minas Gerais – A woman suffered burns over 50% of her body after her ex-husband set her ablaze following a quarrel on Sunday night, in Ituana.

Blumenau Oktoberfest To Go On As Scheduled

by Michael Hone

Despite Some Flooding in German Village Park, the Party Will Go On As Scheduled

BLUMENAU, Brazil – The pavilions where this famous Oktoberfest is scheduled to begin early next month were affected by flooding in the Vale do Itajai. Also affected were almost one million people the the State of Santa Catarina.

Blumenau Floods (photo: terra.com.br)

Angry Mob Burns Military Police Battalion

by Michael Hone

After Shooting by Military Police, Mob Burns Civil and Military Police Stations

BELEM, Brazil – The city of Sao Sebastiao da Boa Vista, on the Marajo Archipelago, in the State of Para saw some tense moments Saturday night. According to an article on O Globo online, angry residents stormed and torched the 9th Military Police Battalion. The group also ransacked and looted the Civil Police station in the city.

Police Arrest Valet at University of SP

by Michael Hone

Military Police Arrest Robbery Suspect at the University of Sao Paulo

SAO PAULO, Brazil – In the first arrest by Military Police, inside the University of Sao Paulo campus since the end of the military dictatorship 26 years ago, a 23 year old valet was taken into custody for robbing two people, reports O Globo online.