Pubdate: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Copyright: 2002 Los Angeles Times Contact: http://www.latimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248 REPORTER TORTURED, SLAIN BY DRUG LORD, POLICE SAY An undercover TV journalist reporting on crime and drugs in Rio de Janeiro's shantytowns was tortured and put to death with a sword by a drug lord who runs his territory like a medieval fiefdom, police said. Tim Lopes of Globo television was captured June 2 as he tried to infiltrate a dance party in northern Rio de Janeiro, where gangs sell drugs and stage illicit sex shows. Lopes, 50, was taken to a nearby shantytown, where he was shot in the feet, brutally beaten and killed by drug lord Elias Pereira da Silva, police said. Gang members then burned Lopes' body. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart