Rio police arrested for mugging U.S. cops

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Rio de Janeiro police arrested two fellow officers on Thursday accused of extorting money from two American tourists who happened to be San Francisco cops on vacation.

"One of the victims identified the officers and they are under administrative arrest for now," a police spokeswoman in Rio said. The crime-ridden city is swarming with tourists during the Pan American Games, which end on Sunday.

The U.S. tourists were leaving a night club in Rio's Copacabana beach neighborhood before dawn on Wednesday, when two uniformed police officers approached them and searched them for drugs. At night, the neighborhood is a red-light district with several brothels and strip joints.

Although no drugs were found, the officers told the tourists they would have to pay a bribe or be arrested. One of the Americans went back to their hotel to fetch the equivalent of some $2,200 in local and foreign currency. The Brazilian policemen then took off with the money and an MP3 player.

Corruption is rife in Rio's police force despite the authorities' efforts to root out bad cops. Officers, who often have to confront well-armed drug gangs, complain they are underpaid and many have to moonlight as private security guards to make ends meet.

Policing in Rio has been heavily reinforced in the last three weeks during the Pan American Games. No major incidents have been reported after months of daily gun battles in the city's sprawling hillside slums.