One of the militiamen most wanted by the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, Felipe Ferreira Carolino, known as Zulu, was arrested this Wednesday (11), in the West zone of the city.
Zulu was inside an Emergency Care Unit (UPA), in the Paciência neighborhood, when he was located by police officers from the Police Station for the Repression of Organized Criminal Actions and Special Inquiries (DRACO).
According to the police, he received exclusive treatment within the UPA after being transferred from Pedro II Municipal Hospital, which is also in the West zone. When the police arrived, Zulu was smoking a cigarette and apparently calm, the militiaman had a pistol.
The fact that the criminal was being treated differently raised suspicions about a scheme to favor militia members. DRACO is already investigating these possible irregularities in the care of members of the organization in public health units.
Zulu was arrested in the act for forming a private militia. Furthermore, he is also the target of other ongoing investigations, conducted by the Whereabouts Discovery Police Station (DDPA), which investigate crimes such as disappearances and homicides linked to the militia’s activities.
In 2019, he had already been arrested, but in 2023 he was released. After his release, he immediately resumed leadership of the militia that operates in the Rodo favela, in Santa Cruz, consolidating his commanding role in the organization.
A CNN contacted Rio City Hall regarding the militiaman’s conduct and police investigations into an irregular transfer. In a note, the Municipal Health Department reported that:
“The patient in question was admitted to UPA Paciência on the 9th, for clinical reasons, without external causes or suspicions that would constitute a legal need for communication to the police authority. He underwent risk classification and medical evaluation, and hospitalization was recommended. He was in an isolation bed and, on several occasions, he was reprimanded by the health team for disrespecting the rule that prohibits smoking in hospital environments.”
“It is important to highlight that the patient entered the unit through normal means, like any other citizen, he went through the entire standard flow of care, including screening, medical evaluation, exams and hospitalization. Until the police arrived at the unit, the UPA coordination had no knowledge of his criminal condition.”
“The unit’s coordination is available to the police authority for any questions within the scope of the investigation.”
