Men report robberies after being lured into fake app meetings in the Southwest Zone of Rio

One of the victims, who asked not to be identified, said he met a man who introduced himself as Pedro on the app at the end of last month. According to him, they exchanged photos, talked about common interests and agreed to meet on the same day.

The meeting was scheduled at Rua dos Biólogos, in Boiúna. Upon arriving at the scene, however, the man claims that he was surrounded by 2 armed men.

According to the victim, one of the men pointed a gun, demanded his cell phone and told him to get down and turn his back. The man also said that he heard one of those involved order the other to shoot.

“He took my cell phone, watch and my bag, which had everything in it,” he said.

Another victim narrated a similar episode, also after arranging a meeting. “They arrived with the motorcycle and said: ‘Everything goes!’. So I handed over what I had. I handed over my cell phone”, he stated.

According to the report, the men fled after he reacted and drew attention to the existence of security cameras in a condominium.

The victim stated that he realized that the meeting had been a setup and sent a message to the profile he was chatting with on the app. When she said that she had been robbed and invented that she had already warned her police uncle, she was blocked by her profile.

At the beginning of the year, police identified a group that, according to investigations, used fake profiles on dating apps to commit robberies.

At least 3 crimes were recorded by security cameras in Tanque, also in the Southwest Zone. Two of them happened on the same day and on the same street.

In March, police arrested Jackson da Costa Silva. According to investigations, he was part of the group. Jackson is charged with aggravated robbery.

The Military Police reported that policing in Jacarepaguá is carried out in an overt and planned manner.

The Civil Police stated that the 32nd DP (Taquara) investigates the cases and analyzes images from security cameras to try to identify those involved. The institution also reinforced the importance of victims contacting the police station to register incidents.