Gallery: Cleaning Brazil's 'Cracklands'

A suspected crack user who was feeling ill cries out in pain as she is carried by a social worker to a waiting van, to take her to a nearby shelter in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP

A suspected crack user who was feeling ill cries out in pain as she is carried by a social worker to a waiting van, to take her to a nearby shelter in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP

A man, identified by municipal agents as a suspected crack user, sleeps behind an umbrella during an operation by Rio de Janeiro's Social Action Secretariat to bring crack addicts to shelters for rehabilitation. Photo: Reuters

A girl, identified by municipal agents as a suspected crack user, covers herself with a sheet during an operation by Rio de Janeiro's Social Action Secretariat to bring crack addicts to shelters for rehabilitation. Photo: Reuters

A woman, identified by municipal agents as a suspected crack user, covers herself with a sheet during an operation by Rio de Janeiro's Social Action Secretariat to bring crack addicts to shelters for rehabilitation. Photo: Reuters

A man, identified by municipal agents as a suspected crack user, is pictured during an operation by Rio de Janeiro's Social Action Secretariat to bring crack addicts to shelters for rehabilitation. Photo: Reuters

A man, identified by municipal agents as a suspected crack user, covers himself with a sheet during an operation by Rio de Janeiro's Social Action Secretariat to bring crack addicts to shelters for rehabilitation, near the Parque Uniao slum in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Retuers

A social worker coaxes a suspected crack user who is feeking sick, into being taken to a nearby shelter, in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP

A suspected crack user sleeps undisturbed atop a shower curtain at a local "crackland," while social workers roundup other suspected addicts to take them to a shelter, in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP

A suspected crack user strums a guitar as he watches social workers roundup other suspected addicts to take them to a shelter, at a local "crackland," in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP

A suspected crack user covered in a sheet walks away from a local "crackland," as social workers try to convince other suspected addicts to be taken to a shelter, in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP

A suspected crack user is voluntarily removed from a local "crackland," carried by a social worker to a waiting van that will take her to a nearby shelter in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP