Cocaine for R$5, marijuana for R$5.
All the favelas under the red sign. You know what that means?
The whole thing will be red, all red!
We are Third Command.
We recently took over this favela and enemies want to invade.
Two gang members died after the confrontation.
Rio de Janeiro is in a state of urban war.
If we die today, tomorrow thereâll be over a hundred replacing us.
Here, choose from here. Hereâs your change.
Rio de Janeiro is quite peculiar,
in that it has areas which the State struggles to reach...
which we call "favela".
The criminal gangs dominate these neighborhoods
and set up outlets for the drug trade.
They are constantly attempting to seize each otherâs territory.
In the favela...
we go in the direction of the gunshots.
We move towards them.
Luiz Bastos and the C.O.R.E Team are ramping up their favela training.
But the mood is somber.
Recently, we lost our friend.
He was shot on patrol.
He died in hospital on Father's day.
He had a six year old son.
It hurts a lot because...
a piece of us is gone.
In less than 12 hours,
the team will raid a favela
controlled by Rioâs most powerful drug gang,
the Red Command.
He ran down there to the left.
Come, come, come!
Search him!
Hands on your head!
- Keep moving forward! - He's clean.
Okay.
We get very close, we mainly do things together.
We go to each otherâs houses.
Because going out,
being on the streets, in bars, is very risky for us.
So we try to stick together.
In Rio, the cops may rule the day,
but at night, it's a different story.
COPS WILL DIE
Cocaine for R$5, marijuana for R$5.
Cocaine for R$5. Get it here!
Here, the Red Commandâs control is so complete,
their drug market or "Bocas" operate in plain sight.
- I want four R$5 bags. - Four?
Here, choose from here.
Hereâs your change.
Marcos deals for the Red Command.
I started working when I was 12.
Now... Iâm 18.
We are Red Command for life, and thatâs how it is.
I got marijuana for R$5.
Marijuana for R$20.
And cocaine for R$5.
Thatâs what I do, I sell my drugs and cash in.
I really like working in the drug trade...
and I like cash in my pocket.
In one day, I make R$450- 500.
Thatâs my money after my shift.
In just two days,
Marcos makes what a Brazilian on minimum wage earns in an entire month.
Itâs always busy every day, at night itâs busy.
Many addicts.
But a boca this busy brings extra heat down on the whole favela.
The police are everywhere, everywhere we go.
There's too much repression.
We try to avoid them any way we can.
Weâre in a game of cat and mouse.
Bruno oversees a mobile coke lab that supplies the boca.
Everyone has a job here.
He counts them out. He ties them up.
Iâm the chemist who mixes the drugs.
His team breaks down kilos of coke to cut with baking soda.
We turn it into 2-2.5kg.
Then we get more profit.
Weâre going to package it up.
Put it all in the bag, tie it up, deliver it to the dealers
who will sell it and then bring us the money.
♪ Don't chase money, make money ♪
♪ I'm a hustler ♪
♪ And you're not a fanboy, you're a customer ♪
♪ Never stand in another man's shadow ♪
♪ Place my own trail, I'm not afraid to fail ♪
♪ I'm a leader ♪
This is what we like, money.
Bruno and his team each make 500 to 600 Reals a day.
Thatâs 130 to 160 US dollars.
The state doesnât feed our children or help us at all.
The drug trade came, put its arms around me, got rid of my hunger,
my familyâs hunger.
- It never stops. - Never.
In this favela alone,
three thousand residents are controlled by 200 gang members...
each armed and funded by money made in the bocas.
Blow for 5 reals, weed for 5 reals! Come get it! Here, kid!
There are five bocas here.
The most profitable drug is cocaine. Itâs what keeps the business going.
As the favela's general manager,
Alef is in charge of all five bocas.
If sales are good, I generally make R$7,000- 8,000 a week.
You start in a low position.
Then you get promoted.
You start off as a lookout, then as a dealer.
If you do an OK job, you become a boca manager.
If you still do an OK job, general manager.
The Red Command uses the gang structure
to create an iron clad base for their drug operations.
And this isnât their only favela.
Of the 1,000 favelas in Rio,
around 600 are controlled by the Red Command,
making them a serious threat to the state itself.
We are against this state,
and the state may want to reclaim the location at any moment.
We are at risk 24 hours a day,
because the police can get in at any moment.
If they break in, we shoot them.
So we fight fire with fire.
♪ You better kill me first ♪
♪ Before I silence these words Lay me in the earth ♪
♪ You better kill me first ♪
To guard their turf, the Red Command deploys a legion
of heavily armed foot soldiers.
Itâs all gonna be CV!
All the favelas under the Red Command symbol.
You know what that means?
We want the whole thing to be red, all red!
Soldiers like Ze defend the gangâs territory with their lives.
My job is not letting the enemies get close to our friends.
If they do, shit gets real. Bullet against bullet.
This is for them! Check it out! Packed with bullets! Loads of bullets!
Ze is used to shoot-outs with rival gangs,
but he has a special contempt for cops.
Cowardice is the worst thing there is.
The police come here and kill you in a cowardly way.
Iâve carried friends in my arms. So many things, you know?
Theyâre cowards!
So tell them to drop by.
Weâre heavily armed and ready for them.
The gangâs vast firepower makes their favelas a no-go zone
for all but the toughest of Rioâs police.
We are going to Bandeira 2 favela
to serve the arrest warrants
and try to find the drug dealers.
Luiz Bastos and his C.O.R.E Team are about
to raid a Red Command favela.
Because of its location next to key transportation links,
Bandeira 2 makes big drug profits for the gang.
We are attempting to surround them at the drug sales point.
We could meet with a lot of resistance.
The team is heading into a viperâs nest.
They move block by block checking for gang members.
f you stand still, you will be shot at.
We donât stop, we keep moving all the time.
Thatâs the patrolâs technique.
A second team is circling around the back
to stop anyone from escaping.
Stop there, stop there!
Go, go, go, get him!
Go after him, get his rucksack.
This way, this way.
Come over here.
Donât run!
Back at the favelaâs entrance, the first team finds
an abandoned cell phone and drug paraphernalia.
Hands against the wall.
To the other side.
No.
Step back, step back.
So far, no drugs.
Frog, do you copy?
Go ahead.
Do you copy? Weâve secured the area.
And the favela is eerily quiet.
When the police enters over there,
the gang members pass through this hole here.
They go past the train tracks, along that wall and all the way down.
until they reach another favela opposite.
The gang has melted away.
But like dogs, theyâve sprayed the walls to mark their turf,
and the Red Command symbol, CV, is everywhere.
Luiz and his team must head deeper into the favela.
Finally, they reach their prime objective, the main boca.
But it's deserted.
Then, a lucky find.
The bocaâs account book containing details of recent sales.
With the area secured, they start to dismantle the boca.
From their point of view, itâs strategically located.
They put a team over there
and another one there, watching everything,
so they can choose their escape route this way or that.
Where are you?
Iâm by the boca entrance.
Shall we go take a look?
Letâs go check it out.
Red Command spotters have been seen on the rooftops.
Wary of snipers,
Luiz and his men need to get to a vantage point.
Where is your door? Where is your door?
Is it possible to reach the rooftop from your house?
No, you have to go there.
- Can I take a look inside? - Go ahead.
I want to get on the roof, is it this way?
Yes, go straight up.
By the time the cops finally make it up,
thereâs no-one around.
They have no choice but to leave...
empty handed.
♪ They said we could be heroes ♪
♪ Save the world from itself ♪
♪ But we're the ones dyin' ♪
♪ For a place upon the shelf ♪
Normally, that doesnât happen. We usually catch something.
We find things, thereâs a confrontation.
When nothing happens, we get frustrated.
As soon as we turn our backs, they return to the same place.
They must be back by now.
And while the police target the Red Command,
Rioâs other drug gangs only grow stronger.
The T.C.P., or Pure Third Command,
is Rioâs second most powerful gang,
and with 200 of their own favelas, theyâre on the rise.
We are the Third Command.
We are enemies of Red Command.
We recently took over this favela, and enemies want to invade.
T.C.P. boss, Jackson, has just taken over a Red Command favela.
Since I have the opportunity and enough money to invade another favela
and double my money and get a better life, Iâm gonna try to do that.
Who doesnât want a better life?
But his new turf has come at a price.
Unfortunately, we always lose a friend or two in this war.
So when you die in the war, you die doing your duty.
The most intelligent, the quickest, always survive.
To get where I am, Iâve had to do a lot of things,
otherwise you lose control of the community.
Iâve had to kill rival gang members.
The more shoot-outs I got into with the police, the more rivals I shot,
the more I grew and grew,
until one day, I realized I was in charge.
Money is what makes all this happen.
Thereâs no other name for it. It is the money.
It turns you into a monster.
Jackson knows the Red Command could retaliate at any time.
Itâs a war that will never end.
The drugs are what make it happen.
They bring in the money to buy the weapons and keep the war going.
To secure this new turf,
Jackson needs to get the bocas up and running...
and that means getting hold of more drugs.
I got ten kilos of cocaine here
and several kilos of marijuana.
Piloto drives for Rioâs gangs.
I transport whatever is necessary...
weapons, drugs.
Iâm an independent. Iâm not tied to anyone.
Tonight, heâs on the T.C.Pâs payroll.
Iâm taking cocaine, powder worth over R$100,000
to a client who is in need.
Heâs running the gauntlet from SÃ£o Paulo along the Dutra highway
to Jacksonâs favela in Rio.
I prefer to travel earlier with a bit more traffic
so that Iâm less likely to be stopped by the police.
This journey will earn Piloto over $1,000...
if he makes it.
But thereâs a Federal police checkpoint right in his path.
What are you transporting?
- It's empty. - Oh, it's empty?
If I were caught,
I would get sentenced to ten to 15 years in prison.
That's always scary.
Today, the cops are on high alert.
But thereâs no turning back.
You have to keep cool.
Not get stressed over little things.
And stay lucky.
Thatâs the main thing.
Where are you coming from?
You're heading to Rio?
Just open the trunk please, turn off the engine step out of the car.
At a checkpoint like this, police stop dozens of drivers.
Great, all good.
Thanks a lot. Have a good journey.
But not Piloto.
Not today.
♪ Oh, you'll never know ♪
♪ When the judge will come to take your soul ♪
Sup, bro. Iâve got the cargo with me. Iâll see you tonight, all right?
When Iâm transporting people
and we come face to face with a police car or a checkpoint,
these guys might shoot to avoid getting caught
and the police would certainly shoot back.
Getting caught is the lesser evil, getting killed is the worse.
♪ You sang the devil's song ♪
♪ But the devil himself wouldn't sing along ♪
♪ So hide, baby, hide ♪
♪ 'Til justice comes to take you home ♪
Piloto finally arrives with the drugs.
Sup, bro?
You good?
But Jackson has another job for him.
Hey, I've got a mission for you. I want to send some stuff with you.
I'm sending these two pistols
as reinforcement for our friends over there.
Iâm going to send these two grenades as well to make them stronger.
The Red Command is attacking a T.C.P. favela,
and Jackson is sending Piloto with some extra hardware.
Thereâs an invasion happening.
The gang got together,
and everyone is sending something over there to help it keep going.
The gang is all about unity.
Meanwhile, thanks to Pilotoâs coke,
Jackson can reopen the boca.
That's it. That's it. Correct.
Crack, the best crack in Rio.
You have to buy rifles.
With the money you make, you buy one kilo of cocaine,
one kilo of marijuana to get the cash flowing.
And thatâs the way it goes, you have to keep growing.
Itâs Maiconâs job to get the drug money flowing in.
R$5 crack bag?
I canât let the boca run dry.
R$20 of marijuana.
Each boca in the favela is making R$100,000.
All of them together bring in one million Reals a week.
But reopening the boca leaves them exposed.
The Red Command could hit back at any time.
There are lookouts all over the hill.
Thereâs a motorbike going down your way.
No problem.
Everythingâs in order, total peace.
Grilo is part of the bocaâs early warning system.
When I see a car from up here,
I radio the information over to the other guy down there.
So they are ready and waiting for it.
We do the same thing at every access route into the favela.
Jackson has the entire crew on high alert.
Each favela belongs to a boss.
He owns the bocas and he issues his commands.
We must obey them.
A mistake can cost us our lives.
The punishment is death. If you screw up, you die.
Whatâs the view from up there?
Up here thereâs nothing going on.
Everythingâs peaceful up here.
Everything calm, the view is clear.
You bet.
The C.O.R.E Team has been tasked with a new mission,
to take on the growing might of the T.C.P.
The moment we get out of the armored truck,
weâre going straight in.
Their target: two gang members who live in the T.C.P. favela
in the Japeri district on the outskirts of Rio.
Close to the Dutra Highway,
itâs a major drug hub for the whole city.
Luiz and his team are approaching the favela from the rear,
and theyâve called in air support.
Thereâs a boca here, they left motorbikes.
The team has caught the bocaâs security off guard.
They left everything here, even food.
Their motorbikes, stolen, no license plates.
Thereâs a trail of clues all over the area.
Is that a rifle bullet?
Itâs one of those tracer bullets.
They must be nearby.
They must be over there, letâs go and see.
A rifle magazine? Which type?
AR 10. AR 10.
Itâs the thugsâ.
The helicopter has spotted two suspects
escaping into a nearby house.
Did you find more stuff? Huh?
Is there anyone inside?
Did a guy come in here?
Move outside.
- Is it him? - No, not me.
There's someone in there.
Two armed gang members have already been shot
in an exchange of fire.
The police turn off the cameras and rush them to the hospital.
But itâs too late.
Both drug dealers died after the confrontation.
Theyâre not the men theyâre after,
but they were wanted.
We seized two 9mm pistols,
four rifle carriers, more communication equipment.
Every bullet thatâs taken off the street
is potentially a life saved.
But for the cops, itâs just another hollow victory
in Rioâs never-ending drug war.
Iâm aware
that we will never solve the problem with gunshots.
We should reach out to the children who were born in the favelas,
so they grow up to realize that drug dealers
are neither superheroes nor role models for them.
In this life,
itâs easy to get women, money, parties, cars, motorbikes.
Like it or not, these are things that are cursed.
I want to save up as much money as I can
and quit before anybody finds out.
This is not the life I want to lead until I die.
We die today, tomorrow a hundred more will replace us.
It never stops.
Never.
We have to resolve the situation.
Weâre the last resort.
♪ Living on the front line Struggle's all I know ♪
♪ Working hard to get mine And never letting go ♪
♪ Burn it up got the fire in me No one's stopping my victory ♪
♪ No dropping me to the ground Cuz it's going down, undefeated ♪