Brazil mail implements security tax for deliveries in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil's state-run postal service says it will start charging extra to deliver letters and packages in Rio de Janeiro due to a wave of wave of violence in the state.

Correios said in a statement on Wednesday that the so-called emergency tax of about $1 will be charged starting March 6 onwards. It said the tax will be scrapped once the violence under control in Rio.

It costs about $0.40 to send a letter in Brazil. It costs about $7 to send a 1 pound package.

Brazil's government recently put the military in control of the state's policing after Rio Gov. Luiz Fernando Pezao acknowledged he couldn't handle public security alone.

Correios said that an average of 32 deliveries were stolen per day in Rio state that last year.