One of the leaders of organized crime in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was killed on Friday in a shootout with police officers who raided to arrest him, local authorities said.

Rio police announced that Rui Paulo Gonçalves Estevao, better known as Pipito, was allegedly the leader of a paramilitary group that terrorized working-class neighborhoods by extorting money.

“When they approached him, he attacked the police officers,” the press release states, adding that an exchange of fire followed in which Pipito was injured. He was taken to hospital, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.

Rio’s governor said in a social media post that last October, Pipito had “ordered 35 buses to be set on fire” in slums in western Rio, following the death of another paramilitary leader. Those arson attacks against buses had shocked Brazil at the time.

Many poor neighborhoods in Rio are controlled by paramilitary groups, often made up of former police officers. They are initially presented as self-defense groups against drug-trafficking gangs. However, they actually engage in mafia-like practices, controlling services such as gas distribution, internet access and transport.