On Wednesday, local prosecutor Raul Duque put the number of those taken at 42.

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Among them is Carlos Duque, who in 1989 was General Noriega's candidate in fraudulent elections.

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Has been linked romantically with the Duque de Huescar, heir to the Spanish aristocratic house of Alba.

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The operation, dubbed Purification, began in the early hours of the day in Duque de Caxias, in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

BBC: Latin America & Caribbean

The police commander in Duque de Caxias, Claudio de Lucas Lima, has been sacked, but there is no indication that he was involved in the wrongdoing.

BBC: Latin America & Caribbean

The case last September of a teacher from Rio's violent Duque de Caxias suburb who was stabbed after reprimanding pupils for drug-dealing was by no means exceptional.

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The men were apparently following the trail of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, Cuba's former star pitcher who, earlier this year, made the crossing from Havana to the Bahamas.

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Prosecutors say the policemen were paid to overlook criminal activities in 13 slums of Duque de Caxias, a populous working class city that is part of Greater Rio de Janeiro.

BBC: Latin America & Caribbean