The Olympics inspire Brazilian cannabis traffickers

With less than 100 days to go before the opening of the Rio Olympic Games, Brazilian police are investigating the origin of marijuana samples whose photos are circulating on the Internet, bearing the Olympic symbols and the following inscription: «Hydroponic / 30 Brazilian reais / Complexo do PL/PG / All complaints to be made at the point of sale.» The hydroponic cannabis is generally potent and is always grown indoors. A gram apparently sells for €8.20.

The term «Complexo do PL/PG» is traditionally the acronym used by drug traffickers in Paracambi, a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and may be linked to the Comando Vermelho (CV) and Terceiro Comando (TC) gangs, which operate together in certain slums and near Belo Horizonte (the country’s sixth-largest city), where Police Pacification Units have not been established and where drug traffickers thrive.

The publication of these photos sparked some amused reactions online: «Rio de Janeiro is ready for the Olympics» or «The best part of all this is the return claim you’d have to file at the store.».

Flocked Hashish for the Rio Olympics

Police have found that marijuana branded with the Rio Olympics logo has been on sale since last month in several communities plagued by drug trafficking. Others small hash tablets were also seized with the same "JO" inscription and marketed specifically for the city's western district.