Cops confirm intended ‘bomb attack’ at Lady Gaga concert with crowd of two million yesterday
The show was the singer's biggest ever
Poppy Bilderbeck
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro state has revealed it successfully prevented a 'bomb attack' planned for Lady Gaga's free concert, which over two million people attended.
Yesterday (May 3), Lady Gaga - real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta - put on her biggest show ever, performing a two-hour concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It's estimated that a staggering 2.1 million people were in attendance at the show - which the 39-year-old put on for free as part of her global tour to promote her album titled Mayhem.
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro has since released a statement saying it prevented a 'bomb attack' from taking place at the event.
Advert
In a post to Twitter, authorities said: "OPERATION FAKE MONSTER | The Rio de Janeiro Civil Police, in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice, prevented a bomb attack that was planned to occur at Lady Gaga's show in Copacabana, South Zone RJ. The person responsible for the plan was arrested, and a teenager was detained."
Working in coordination with the country's justice ministry, the force said: "The suspects were recruiting participants, including minors, to carry out coordinated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails."
The bomb plot was reportedly discovered as a result of a tip-off from Rio state police intelligence.
Rio state police intelligence reportedly picked up on coded language and extremist symbolism being used online - digital cells encouraging violent behavior among teenagers.
"Those involved were identified as virtually recruiting participants to carry out attacks using improvised explosives - the plan was aimed at gaining notoriety on social media," they added.
State police intelligence sent the tip-off to the ministry's cyber operations laboratory which led to a dozen search and seizure warrants being issued.
Authorities noted: "The agents executed search and seizure warrants against targets in Rio, Niterói, Duque de Caxias, and Macaé; as well as in states such as São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Mato Grosso. Local Civil Police forces collaborated."
One search and seizure warrant led to the arrest of a teenager who was allegedly found with child abuse images on a device.
And another led to the arrest of a man who's believed to be the leader of the group. Located in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, he was reportedly found to be in possession of a firearm.
The statement resolved: "The operation involved the DCAV, DRCI, 19th DP, as well as the Core. The alert about the criminal scheme came from the Civil Police Intelligence Subsecretariat (Ssinte), when investigations promptly began."
The concert marked the first time Lady Gaga had played in Brazil since 2012 - with the 'Bad Romance' singer canceling a show in 2017 as a result of health issues.