Two Uber and two ride-share taxi drivers are tortured to death in Brazil 'as revenge after gang leader's sick mother had a ride cancelled'
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Two of the victims worked for Uber and the other two for a Brazilian ride-sharing company, 99. The four drivers were tortured to death at the Jardim Santo Inácio favela in Salvador (stock)
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A gang leader ordered the killings of four ride-sharing drivers in Brazil after his sick mother had a ride cancelled, according to reports.
The four victims, aged between 23 to 48, were called to the Jardim Santo Inácio favela in Salvador before being tortured and killed.
Two of the drivers worked for Uber and the other two for a Brazilian taxi app company, 99, with a fifth driver notifying the police after escaping.
The man reportedly described his abduction on local television, saying he was led behind a shack after being taken from his car at gunpoint.
The driver said he was tied up, beaten and tortured but managed to flee into a swamp when one of the victims grabbed a suspect's gun.
Rui Costa, the Bahia governor, said: 'The gangster ordered these people killed because his mother called Uber, but the car never arrived', reported Fox News.
Two suspects in the murders were killed in a police shootout on the same day and the gang leader who ordered the killings was found fatally shot two days later.
According to The Guardian, an Uber spokeswoman said: 'Uber deeply regrets this brutal and shocking crime.'
A favela is a crime-ridden slum, or 'shanty town', and lays on the outskirts of cities in Brazil. The areas have long been dominated by gangs who traffic illegal drugs.
Tourists brave enough to visit favelas have been known to have machine guns pulled on them, although some companies offer small tours.
In Rio de Janeiro alone, the number of people living in favelas increased from about 170,000 to more than 600,000 between 1950 and 1980.
In October Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro cracked down on criminals in Rio de Janeiro, leading to a huge surge in killings by police.
Some residents of Rio de Janiero and human rights groups see the lethal police raids as part of an illegal campaign to clean up historically violent neighborhoods across Latin America's biggest country.
In Rio de Janeiro, killings by police have climbed by 16 per cent this year, according to government figures, in a country with the world's highest number of murders.
- Four ride-sharing drivers were tortured and killed last Friday in Salvador, Brazil
- A fifth driver was abducted but escaped into a swamp before alerting police
- Two of the victims worked for Uber and the other two for Brazilian taxi app 99
- A gang leader ordered the killings after his sick mother had a ride cancelled
- The same day police found two of the suspects and killed them in a shootout
- The gang leader who ordered the killings was found fatally shot two days later
Four taxi drivers killed as 'gang leader's mother had ride cancelled'
Four ride-sharing drivers were tortured and killed last Friday after being called to the Jardim Santo Inácio favela in Salvador, Brazil. A fifth driver was abducted but escaped and alerted police.
Murder of Uber drivers may be Brazil gang leader’s ‘revenge’ for cancelled ride
Police said motive was still being investigated as Bahia governor said ‘drug gangster’ called for deaths after mother’s Uber cancelled
Canceled Uber ride in Brazil leads to torture killings of 4 rideshare drivers: report
A Brazilian governor says a gang leader had four rideshare drivers killed after his mother’s Uber ride was canceled, according to a report.
Two of the victims worked for Uber and the other two for a Brazilian ride-sharing company, 99. The four drivers were tortured to death at the Jardim Santo Inácio favela in Salvador (stock)
..
A gang leader ordered the killings of four ride-sharing drivers in Brazil after his sick mother had a ride cancelled, according to reports.
The four victims, aged between 23 to 48, were called to the Jardim Santo Inácio favela in Salvador before being tortured and killed.
Two of the drivers worked for Uber and the other two for a Brazilian taxi app company, 99, with a fifth driver notifying the police after escaping.
The man reportedly described his abduction on local television, saying he was led behind a shack after being taken from his car at gunpoint.
The driver said he was tied up, beaten and tortured but managed to flee into a swamp when one of the victims grabbed a suspect's gun.
Rui Costa, the Bahia governor, said: 'The gangster ordered these people killed because his mother called Uber, but the car never arrived', reported Fox News.
Two suspects in the murders were killed in a police shootout on the same day and the gang leader who ordered the killings was found fatally shot two days later.
According to The Guardian, an Uber spokeswoman said: 'Uber deeply regrets this brutal and shocking crime.'
A favela is a crime-ridden slum, or 'shanty town', and lays on the outskirts of cities in Brazil. The areas have long been dominated by gangs who traffic illegal drugs.
Tourists brave enough to visit favelas have been known to have machine guns pulled on them, although some companies offer small tours.
In Rio de Janeiro alone, the number of people living in favelas increased from about 170,000 to more than 600,000 between 1950 and 1980.
In October Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro cracked down on criminals in Rio de Janeiro, leading to a huge surge in killings by police.
Some residents of Rio de Janiero and human rights groups see the lethal police raids as part of an illegal campaign to clean up historically violent neighborhoods across Latin America's biggest country.
In Rio de Janeiro, killings by police have climbed by 16 per cent this year, according to government figures, in a country with the world's highest number of murders.