After Crackdown in Rio Criminals Move to Suburbs

The provincial town of Mage seems a world away from the violence and drug dealing that plague Brazil's larger cities. On a recent afternoon, the central square is a picture of calm. Children play around a fountain; older people sit on the many park benches dotting the area, under the shade of trees.

Mage, about 35 miles northwest of Rio, is close enough that people can commute to the city, which many of them do. Yet it's far enough away that nothing much really happened here in the past. But residents say that is changing.

"There has always been a drug trade, but here compared to Rio, it's always been quite small," one resident says. "But now, there are different people coming in, from different places."

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