BRAZIL DRUG PROBE IMPLICATES POLITICIANS AND POLICE

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 30 - A probe into organized crime and drug trafficking
released today by the Brazilian Congress implicated nearly 200 officials,
including at least 10 members of national and state congresses and an array
of police officers, judges, mayors and city council members.

The congressional committee directing the inquiry recommended that 75
police officials be investigated for crimes ranging from extortion to drug
trafficking. Ultimately, the report implicated more police officers than
drug dealers.

The 5,000-page report was the culmination of an investigation, begun in
April 1999, that has gripped this country of 170 million people for months.
The inquiry marked the first time that the Congress has taken such a long
and detailed look into Brazil's $25 billion drug-trafficking trade.

The probe uncovered drug-trafficking networks that involved some of the
most powerful members of Brazilian society--politicians, entrepreneurs,
lawyers and police officials--in 17 of the 26 states. "What the
investigation has done is to show how much drug traffickers in this country
depend on the support of very influential people," said James Cavallaro,
director of Global Justice, a Brazil-based human rights group.

The investigating committee does not have the power to indict citizens.
However, it can seek expulsion of members of Congress accused of wrongdoing
and can recommend further investigation of others, with the ultimate goal
of indictment.

The attorney general's office was expected to prosecute many of the
officials accused of wrongdoing. Diplomats, politicians and human rights
activists expressed hope that the sweeping investigation would lead to
prison sentences for those officials, marking an important step in Brazil's
efforts to move away from impunity.

The congressional probe riveted the nation with hearings that featured the
testimony of scores of witnesses, many hooded or hidden by screens. At
least two dozen witnesses, or prospective witnesses, were killed before it
concluded.

Rio de Janeiro was probably the state hit hardest by the probe. The
committee's report accused 11 civil police officers--investigators, rather
than patrol officers, and including a former chief--of being involved with
drug trafficking. The report also noted that a majority of the 5,037
homicides in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area were connected to turf
wars between rival drug gangs.

"In Rio, the line between the police and drug trafficking is sometimes
blurred, and some would say, nonexistent," Cavallaro said. "What the report
makes clear is that any attempt to wipe out drug trafficking without a
thorough purge of the police is an exercise in futility."

Critics of the investigation have argued that members of the congressional
committee were interested in easy publicity and in pursuing political
enemies. One senator is even pushing for an investigation of the committee.

"I think the process was totally politicized," said the senator, Galvim
Borges, from the northern Amazon state of Amapa. "The final report is
deficient because it isn't based on a serious, professional investigation."

The committee's report also included a series of recommendations for
combating drug trafficking. The wide-ranging suggestions included creating
a permanent government commission to fight trafficking and other organized
crime and strengthening the country's witness protection program.