RIO DE JANEIRO, June 2, 2007 (UPI) – Brazilian authorities arrested six major drug traffickers Friday ahead of an alleged planned attack against a rival gang in a Rio de Janeiro slum. Numerous weapons were seized in the police crackdown on the house where the traffickers were supposedly planning their assault, Agencia Estado reported Friday. Rio’s slums, known locally as “favelas,” have been the scene of increased drug-related violence in the past year, prompting city officials to request additional assistance from the federal government.

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