Month: June 2017

GNR recovered more than 3000 wallets that had been stolen from a warehouse in Varziela industrial zone, in Vila do Conde.

The operation carried out by the Criminal Investigation Nucleus (NIC) of the GNR de Matosinhos was the result of a theft that occurred in April, in which thousands of wallets of cork, with a registered trademark, were stolen from a wholesale warehouse.

In a first phase, conducted in April, police seized 934 of the stolen wallets on sale at a weekly fair of Vila Nova de Famalicão.

On 14^th June, searches were conducted in the Greater Porto area, in the towns of Arcozelo, Rio Tinto, Ermesinde and Alfena, which resulted in the seizure of another 3034 wallets, as well as two firearms and 924 counterfeit articles.

Talks commence on 16^th June concerning a proposed revision of the statute of prosecutors, who delay without justification judicial proceedings.

Aimed at ending delays in the justice process the government wants to introduce revisions to the statute of prosecutors, by introducing measures to punish those who delay, without justification, the judicial processes, the newspaper Público reported.

Among the punishments foreseen are fines, compulsory transfer, suspension, or even expulsion from the profession.

The government’s proposal to revise the status of prosecutors begins today to be discussed with the Union of Magistrates of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (SMMP).

Speaking to Público, the president of the SMMP, António Ventinhas, guarantees that delays are systematically due “to the lack of magistrates,” many of whom “are doing the work of two people.”

A First in Portugal

Public Security Police Lisbon Metropolitan Command and Safe Communities Portugal are organizing a public seminar in Cascais to create awareness concerning the increasing threat of on-line fraud affecting both the tourism industry as well as holiday makers themselves.

This will be held on Friday 23^rd June, 2017 in the Auditorium of the Cultural Centre of Cascais, starting at 16.15 hrs for registration.

This seminar, the first of its kind in Portugal, are being held to give an insight into on-line fraud affecting the Global Tourism industry. With the global increase in on-line fraud and various scams, the tourism industry worldwide has become an inviting target for cyber criminals. This includes on-line villa letting fraud, fake travel websites, air ticket fraud, as well as many others.

The seminar will explore the threats to tourism posed by this, and what steps are being taken in Portugal to identify the risks and reduce the affects.

It is important that those in the tourism industry, such as villa letting companies, property management companies and tour operators are aware of these threats and how to reduce the risk to businesses as well as their clients. Likewise. it is important that holidays makers know how to recognise possible fraud in order to avoid being scammed.

The seminar will bring together those in government and those in the industry in order to create awareness, share best practices in combatting this sort of crime. Presenters at the Seminar will include presentations by the Consumidor (Government consumer rights authority); Association of Local Accommodation in Portugal, Cybercrime Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic, the Australian Embassy, Public Security Police and Safe Communities Portugal.

This is a unique opportunity for travel companies, property letting and management companies as well as those who let their properties to attend. Entry is free and the language will be English and Portuguese.

Safe Communities Portugal and the Regional Tourism Algarve are planning a seminar on the same topic which will be held later. Details will be published in due course.

Cascais Seminar 23^rd June – Please contact: lsbgabcmd@psp.pt or by telephone: 21 765 42 08/09 by June 21, 2017 in order to reserve a place or on info@safecommunitiesportugal.com or by telephone on 913045093.

At stake is the purchase of blood products and inactivated human plasma.

This was another phase of the “O Negative” operation, related to the investigation of frauds in the National Health Service (SNS), which led last year to the arrest of the former president of the Regional Health Administration of Lisbon And INEM, Luís Cunha Ribeiro, and Lalanda e Castro, former president of Octapharma in Portugal.

Approximately 50 inspectors of the PJ, three Judges of Instruction and three Attorneys General of the Republic of DCIAP carried out searches on 6th June 2017 in residences, accounting offices, doctors’ offices and hospital centers in Lisbon and Porto, in order to detect and apprehend elements related to the investigation.

During the proceedings of this Tuesday, three physicians were constituted defendants.

About two million cigarettes that had been stolen in places with customs status in Setúbal and Montijo were seized by the GNR. Fraud and tax evasion are valued at more than 40 million euros. Five individuals were identified.

The seizure was carried out as part of an investigation by the Territorial Command of Setúbal, together with the GNR Tax Action Unit, which took the military to a warehouse in the Alcochete area.

“A search was made to the warehouse, where more than 2 million cigarettes of different brands were seized, and in addition more than 22 thousand boxes of cardboard bearing tobacco marks, with capacity of more than 225 million cigarettes,” explains the GNR.

According to Guarda, the missing tax benefit is over 36 million euros, of which 28 million are related to the Special Consumption Tax on tobacco, and more than 8 million to VAT.

The Coastal Control Unit of Matosinhos of the GNR seized, on 6^th June, 16 tons of frozen octopus, in the area of ​​Póvoa de Varzim.

Loaded in Spain and estimated at around 100 thousand euros, the merchandise was on a truck that was inspected near a warehouse and presented irregularities in terms of labeling, documentation and justification of the provenance.

Following the seizure, and in a joint action with ASAE, the warehouse activity was suspended due to lack of license for handling, preparation and freezing of the fish.

Three tonnes of fresh and frozen octopus was seized.

The Metropolitan Command of the PSP of Lisbon, through the Police Division of Vila Franca de Xira, on 30 and 31 May, in several parishes of the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira, arrested seven men, aged 21 And 54 years, suspected of committing drug trafficking offences.

The arrests were the result of an operation triggered by an investigation that began more than a year ago. In addition to these detentions, 10 household searches and 11 non-domiciliary searches were carried out, with the following being seized:

• 4262 Individual doses of narcotic product suspected of being Hashish;
  • 667 Individual doses of narcotic product suspected of being Cocaine;
  • € 4,000 in cash from the ECB;
  • 2 Firearms with ammunition and five vehicles

The detainees were present at the District Court of Vila Franca de Xira for the first judicial interrogation, and weekly presentations were applied to four of the suspects and the most serious measure  Preventive Arrest to the remaining three suspects.