This is Rocinha - Latin America's biggest slum - sprawling into the hills above Rio de Janeiro - with its 150,000 inhabitants - living in some of the worst poverty in the world.
RIght now it's the Brazilian President's biggest nightmare.
Because Rocinha is under the control of Rio's drug gangs.
The President's preparing to send in the army.
But for the moment, security rests with the city's military police.
They've invited me on a morning patrol.
UPSYNC SUBTITLES
Affirmative, we have an armed suspect down below. Call on the commander of the 9th division to check it out. Call for back up if required.
ARCHIVE
ASTON: April 13, 2004
Last month violence erupted between rival gangs and the police - killing 2 policemen, 4 bystanders and at least 8 gang members.
VOX POP WOMAN
It's too much, we're all scared, we're all scared.
VOX POP DRIVER
5 years I've lived here, I can't do it any more.
STILL LULU
The police's biggest scalp was Rocinha's top godfather - 26 year-old Lulu.
They thought that would end the violence.
POLICE ON STREETS
Today, over a thousand police are occupying - the favela.
Brazil's press have called it a city under siege.
The police assure us they're in control.
ASTON MARCELO ITAGIBA, Rio Security Chief
The situation in Rio has never been out of control. The police have it totally under control.
POLICE ON STREETS
Despite the killing of Lulu, the slum's residents haven't noticed any improvement in security.
There are still daily exchanges of gunfire here. Tensions are running high.
SOT (part underlaid) Global Justice
Nobody has slept here for over a week because the shooting has been so intense. Unfortunately it looks like the situation is going to get even worse.
NIGHT
Night belongs to Rocinhas' real masters - the drug gangs.
The most powerful and the most feared is the Red Command. It has thousands of young men under arms.
I decide to go in and talk to them. It's a risky business. The last Brazilian journalist to gain access to the gangs was tortured and killed.
With the help of my local minder, I've managed to convince members of one Red Command unit to talk to Ch4 News.
Their story is totally at odds with the police account.
SOT Drug Gang Member
They've been saying they will finish us for a long time.
- They can't finish us.
- they can't finish the Red Command.
WEAPONS
With weapons like these - many, it's claimed, obtained through corrupt police officers - the drug gangs remain a formidable force.
SYNC Drug Gang Member
This is a case of honour. A lot of our brothers have lost their lives. We are doing it for the honour. We going to kill all the police, we are in charge here.
80% of Rio's cocaine goes abroad but the rest finds it way into the favelas.
It's through the supply of cocaine that the gangs enforce their control.
Thousands of the poorest slum-dwellers use the drug everyday.
For many it's a substitute for food - it staves off hunger.
Eliane is 42. Last month a full-term foetus died inside her.
She was so high she didn't notice the dead baby for two days. Eliane blames the gang's cheap powder.
SOT ELIANE used since 15 now 42; AGNALDO used since 19 now 48, married 14 yrs, girls 13 and 9, lost full-term baby in March.
They bring the price down in certain outlets by mixing it up they mix it with medicine, bicarbonate of soda things like that. They then sell that to people like us for 1 real (20p).
FAVELA
By day, the police are back in control. But there's an atmosphere of mutual suspcion. Last year alone, they were responsible for killing 1200 civilians.
SYNC GLOBAL JUSTICE
Who are these civilians who are killed? young, mostly black, men, poor. Rocinhas is a consequence, not a cause.
SECURITY MEETING
In a luxury hotel just outside the favela, the city's first couple governor Rosinha Garotinho and her husband Anthony are getting impatient. They call on the President to send in 4-thousand soldiers to solve the problem.
UPSOT Anthony Garotinho 'The cycle violence will not be resolved by the police alone.'
This cry for help has the full backing of the city's head of security who admits the situation is close to all out war.
SOT Marcelo Itagiba City Security Chief
The police don't kill for the sake of killing, they are fighting criminals armed with weapons of war, these criminals have a choice they can hand themselves in or they can try to escape. In the ensuing gun battles I would prefer to see dead criminals not dead police officers.
ARCHIVE NIGHT
The killing of Gang godfather Lulu last month was supposed to bring the people closer to the police.
Many here speak of Lulu as a Robin Hood figure. But when police took over his mansion they found the remnants of a lavish lifestyle - complete with swimming pool, jacuzzi and discotheque - a stark contrast to the squalor of the surrounding favela.
Even so - hundreds of ordinary slum-dwellers flocked to his funeral.
And now the police have a new enemy....
Hiding somewhere in Rocinha's labyrinth
Dudu - a former drug godfather known for his sadistic torture methods. He escaped from prison last December and has been fighting to take Rocinha back ever since.
SYNC ITAGIBA
We're now hunting for this criminal, Dudu, who plans to take over Rocinha with his gang.
LIEUTENANT WALKING
Dudu is in hiding but following a tip-off I went into the hills above the favela to track down one of his most trusted lieutenants in the Red Command.
He promised all-out war.
SOT 'Lieutenant'
The slum belongs to Dudu, we are hoping to take it back. ...A lot of people are going to die. But that's the reality.
And confident in the gang's arsenal, Dudu's henchman wasn't fazed at the prospect of the President sending in tanks and soldiers.
If (he puts) the army on the streets in every Red Command zone. We're gonna invade other communities, we're gonna put our men onto the streets as well. They won't have enough manpower to protect the slums and the people.
ARC
UPSYNC FX
In a country still recovering from decades of military dictatorship, sending in the troops is a high-risk strategy.
Critics say the army is not trained for urban conflict - its presence here would risk causing further damage.
At best, it will only provide a temporary solution to the deep-rooted nightmare of Rocinha.
David Notman-Watt for Channel Four News Rio de Janeiro.
RIght now it's the Brazilian President's biggest nightmare.
Because Rocinha is under the control of Rio's drug gangs.
The President's preparing to send in the army.
But for the moment, security rests with the city's military police.
They've invited me on a morning patrol.
UPSYNC SUBTITLES
Affirmative, we have an armed suspect down below. Call on the commander of the 9th division to check it out. Call for back up if required.
ARCHIVE
ASTON: April 13, 2004
Last month violence erupted between rival gangs and the police - killing 2 policemen, 4 bystanders and at least 8 gang members.
VOX POP WOMAN
It's too much, we're all scared, we're all scared.
VOX POP DRIVER
5 years I've lived here, I can't do it any more.
STILL LULU
The police's biggest scalp was Rocinha's top godfather - 26 year-old Lulu.
They thought that would end the violence.
POLICE ON STREETS
Today, over a thousand police are occupying - the favela.
Brazil's press have called it a city under siege.
The police assure us they're in control.
ASTON MARCELO ITAGIBA, Rio Security Chief
The situation in Rio has never been out of control. The police have it totally under control.
POLICE ON STREETS
Despite the killing of Lulu, the slum's residents haven't noticed any improvement in security.
There are still daily exchanges of gunfire here. Tensions are running high.
SOT (part underlaid) Global Justice
Nobody has slept here for over a week because the shooting has been so intense. Unfortunately it looks like the situation is going to get even worse.
NIGHT
Night belongs to Rocinhas' real masters - the drug gangs.
The most powerful and the most feared is the Red Command. It has thousands of young men under arms.
I decide to go in and talk to them. It's a risky business. The last Brazilian journalist to gain access to the gangs was tortured and killed.
With the help of my local minder, I've managed to convince members of one Red Command unit to talk to Ch4 News.
Their story is totally at odds with the police account.
SOT Drug Gang Member
They've been saying they will finish us for a long time.
- They can't finish us.
- they can't finish the Red Command.
WEAPONS
With weapons like these - many, it's claimed, obtained through corrupt police officers - the drug gangs remain a formidable force.
SYNC Drug Gang Member
This is a case of honour. A lot of our brothers have lost their lives. We are doing it for the honour. We going to kill all the police, we are in charge here.
80% of Rio's cocaine goes abroad but the rest finds it way into the favelas.
It's through the supply of cocaine that the gangs enforce their control.
Thousands of the poorest slum-dwellers use the drug everyday.
For many it's a substitute for food - it staves off hunger.
Eliane is 42. Last month a full-term foetus died inside her.
She was so high she didn't notice the dead baby for two days. Eliane blames the gang's cheap powder.
SOT ELIANE used since 15 now 42; AGNALDO used since 19 now 48, married 14 yrs, girls 13 and 9, lost full-term baby in March.
They bring the price down in certain outlets by mixing it up they mix it with medicine, bicarbonate of soda things like that. They then sell that to people like us for 1 real (20p).
FAVELA
By day, the police are back in control. But there's an atmosphere of mutual suspcion. Last year alone, they were responsible for killing 1200 civilians.
SYNC GLOBAL JUSTICE
Who are these civilians who are killed? young, mostly black, men, poor. Rocinhas is a consequence, not a cause.
SECURITY MEETING
In a luxury hotel just outside the favela, the city's first couple governor Rosinha Garotinho and her husband Anthony are getting impatient. They call on the President to send in 4-thousand soldiers to solve the problem.
UPSOT Anthony Garotinho 'The cycle violence will not be resolved by the police alone.'
This cry for help has the full backing of the city's head of security who admits the situation is close to all out war.
SOT Marcelo Itagiba City Security Chief
The police don't kill for the sake of killing, they are fighting criminals armed with weapons of war, these criminals have a choice they can hand themselves in or they can try to escape. In the ensuing gun battles I would prefer to see dead criminals not dead police officers.
ARCHIVE NIGHT
The killing of Gang godfather Lulu last month was supposed to bring the people closer to the police.
Many here speak of Lulu as a Robin Hood figure. But when police took over his mansion they found the remnants of a lavish lifestyle - complete with swimming pool, jacuzzi and discotheque - a stark contrast to the squalor of the surrounding favela.
Even so - hundreds of ordinary slum-dwellers flocked to his funeral.
And now the police have a new enemy....
Hiding somewhere in Rocinha's labyrinth
Dudu - a former drug godfather known for his sadistic torture methods. He escaped from prison last December and has been fighting to take Rocinha back ever since.
SYNC ITAGIBA
We're now hunting for this criminal, Dudu, who plans to take over Rocinha with his gang.
LIEUTENANT WALKING
Dudu is in hiding but following a tip-off I went into the hills above the favela to track down one of his most trusted lieutenants in the Red Command.
He promised all-out war.
SOT 'Lieutenant'
The slum belongs to Dudu, we are hoping to take it back. ...A lot of people are going to die. But that's the reality.
And confident in the gang's arsenal, Dudu's henchman wasn't fazed at the prospect of the President sending in tanks and soldiers.
If (he puts) the army on the streets in every Red Command zone. We're gonna invade other communities, we're gonna put our men onto the streets as well. They won't have enough manpower to protect the slums and the people.
ARC
UPSYNC FX
In a country still recovering from decades of military dictatorship, sending in the troops is a high-risk strategy.
Critics say the army is not trained for urban conflict - its presence here would risk causing further damage.
At best, it will only provide a temporary solution to the deep-rooted nightmare of Rocinha.
David Notman-Watt for Channel Four News Rio de Janeiro.