RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro health officials are locating and treating hundreds of crack addicts suddenly left without drugs after police occupied dangerous slums this week where the users congregated en masse to buy and smoke the potent drug.
Between Sunday, when 2,000 officers stormed the slums, and late Tuesday, crews of health professionals with police support had rounded up 231 crack users: men, women and children who'd been living in the streets, scrambling for cash and the next fix.
The operations continued Wednesday, but officials had yet to release figures on how many addicts they located.
The police are pushing into the slums as part of a massive effort to bring security to Rio before it hosts the final of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
