Brazilian officers under investigation for extorting money from Czech and US tourists

Two police officers from a special unit designed to help tourists in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro have been arrested for extorting money from a Czech national, the Reuters news agency has reported. Not satisfied with about 260 US dollars they got from the Czech as well as a US national for allegedly possessing drugs, they accompanied the two tourists to their hotel to get more money. A spokesman for the Rio state security secretariat said the tourists alerted hotel security guards who called the police and the two officers were arrested on the spot.

The state security spokesman says there is no investigation or case against the tourists. The officers were charged with exceeding their authority and an investigation is underway to determine if they planted drugs on the tourists.