RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Rio de Janeiro police arrested two fellow officers on Thursday accused of extorting money from two American tourists who happened to be San Francisco cops on vacation.
"One of the victims identified the officers and they are under administrative arrest for now," a police spokeswoman in Rio said. The crime-ridden city is swarming with tourists during the Pan American Games, which end on Sunday.
The U.S. tourists were leaving a night club in Rio's Copacabana beach neighbourhood before dawn on Wednesday, when two uniformed police officers approached them and searched them for drugs. At night, the neighbourhood is a red-light district with several brothels and strip joints.
Although no drugs were found, the officers told the tourists they would have to pay a bribe or be arrested. One of the Americans went back to their hotel to fetch the equivalent of some $2,200 (1,075 pounds) in local and foreign currency. The Brazilian policemen then took off with the money and an MP3 player. (Reuters)
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