Gangs mug 47 carnival tourists in their hotels

Rio de Janeiro police are stepping up security after armed men robbed 47 tourists in their hotels ahead of the city's famed Carnival festivities.

Visitors from the United States, Britain, Argentina and other countries were forced to hand over money, passports and cameras to a gang that took over their small hotel in the city centre before dawn on Thursday.

The robbers, brandishing handguns, grenades and knives, had gained entry after one of them asked to use the toilet and overpowered the receptionist, officers said.

Less than 24 hours earlier, another hotel was hit in similar circumstances in the popular Copacabana beach neighbourhood. Thirteen tourists staying in the budget establishment were robbed by four armed men.

Officials said a Carnival security plan drawn by hoteliers and police would be brought forward a day to Thursday because of the attacks.

Also on Thursday, a group of six German and four American tourists were mugged by gunmen as they were taking photos in Rio's southern residential district of Sao Conrado, police said.

A military patrol stumbled on the robbery and pursued the muggers, guns firing. There were no injuries from the shoot-out, police said.

Rio each year acts as a magnet for tourists from around the world drawn to Carnival celebrations that are billed as "the biggest party on Earth."

Extra police are deployed to bolster security in the city, where violent slums lie alongside upscale beach districts favoured by visitors.

AFP