SAO PAULO: Nearly 23,000 military police agents were deployed Wednesday in a massive anti-crime operation across Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous state, authorities said.
Operation Satellite kicked off two days after public security officials reported a 12.4 percent hike in premeditated homicides across the state, home to 42 million people.
A total of 417 people were killed in August, up from 380 in July.
Officials said that agents in patrol cars, on motorcycles, on horseback and in aircraft fanned out across the state to deter and combat bank robberies, car thefts and drug trafficking, and to launch traffic education campaigns.
More than 8,000 agents were deployed in the Sao Paulo metropolitan area, home to 20 million people.
The crackdown comes ahead of the first round of nationwide municipal elections scheduled for October 7.
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