Armed gunmen surround a local police station, while traffic spikes are laid in strategic positions around town. At the bank, a digger smashes down the main wall before bandits lay explosives, destroying the branch and making off with the loot, hostages in tow. It sounds like a scene straight out of Hollywood or a particularly challenging mission in a video game. But this is real life, and in the state of São Paulo, operations like this have happened over 200 times in the last two years.
On the morning of February 11, a gang of at least ten armed men...
