Month: September 2026

 

 

A €300 million fraud involving used mobile phones has been dismantled in 19 European countries.

 

An operation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) dismantled an alleged criminal network suspected of selling more than one million used mobile phones in 19 European countries, causing losses that could reach 300 million euros for consumers.

The operation, named Troja, involved approximately 1,770 agents from police, tax, and customs authorities and led to more than 160 searches in 19 European countries. Seven people were arrested, including alleged leaders of the organization.

According to the EPPO, the network operated through an international structure that extended from Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates to several European countries and e-commerce platforms. Investigators suspect the group used shell companies to develop a scheme related to VAT payments and market equipment as new when it was actually built from used components.

Mobile phones were assembled using used components.
According to the investigation, the mobile phones were assembled from used components in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. After being prepared, the devices were cleaned and repackaged before being shipped to the Netherlands.

From there, the devices were sent to warehouses in Germany, where they were subsequently put up for sale through e-commerce platforms in various European Union countries.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office suspects that the network managed to place more than one million devices on the market through this circuit, presenting the mobile phones to buyers as if they were new.

The investigation points to a transnational operation, with different stages of the activity spread across various countries and continents.

Shell companies allegedly used to circumvent VAT.
One of the central components of the alleged fraud is related to sales taxation. According to the EPPO, the organization used shell companies located in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland to benefit from a VAT regime intended for second-hand goods.

In addition to the tax component, the investigation seeks to determine the impact of the operation on consumers. EPPO estimates that losses could reach 300 million euros.

 

The scale of the investigated operation is reflected in the number of devices involved: more than one million mobile phones are believed to have been sold through the network.

The devices were presented as new despite, according to investigators, having been assembled using used components, subsequently cleaned and repackaged before reaching the market.

Over 10,000 pieces of equipment seized in Germany.

During operations carried out by the authorities, thousands of pieces of equipment were seized.

In a warehouse located in Krefeld, in western Germany, authorities reportedly found between 10,000 and 15,000 devices, according to information released by WELT.

The operation involved a significant mobilization of resources. Approximately 1,770 police, tax, and customs agents participated in the actions coordinated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which resulted in more than 160 searches carried out in 19 European countries.

Seven people were arrested during the operation, including individuals whom authorities consider to be alleged leaders of the organization under investigation.

The investigation began following a warning from OLAF.

The searches carried out as part of Operation Troja follow a previous investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

The authorities involved in the operation are now investigating several suspicions related to the network’s activities. Among the crimes under investigation are smuggling, trademark infringement, and participation in a criminal organization.

The investigation thus seeks to clarify not only the extent of the alleged tax fraud, but also the origin of the equipment, how it was introduced into the commercial circuit, and the role played by the different companies and individuals involved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tap water quality in Portugal remains above 98% for the 11th consecutive year.

 

This value is the result of combining the mandatory analyses (99.91%) and compliance with the parametric values ​​(98.93%).

Last year, mainland Portugal had a tap water safety indicator close to 100%, marking the 11th consecutive year since then, according to data released this Tuesday by the Water and Waste Sector Regulatory Authority (ERSAR).

According to this year’s Annual Water and Waste Services Report (RASARP), regarding 2025, 98.84% of tap water is safe, a figure obtained by combining the number of mandatory analyses (99.91%) with compliance with parametric values ​​(98.93%).

With the data now available, it has been 11 consecutive years in which the water quality indicator has been at 99%, according to the report accessed by Lusa, which indicates that safe water at the pump level (collection, treatment and transport to municipalities) maintains a value of 99.69%, while safe water at the pump level (distribution to consumers) shows a value of 98.84%.

Susana Rodrigues, director of the quality department at ERSAR, says there are “some problems” with smaller systems, and adds that larger systems offer greater safety, partly because they are more professionalized.

Last year, 74,473 analyses were carried out on the water supply, all of which were scheduled, and of those, only 229 (0.31%) were incorrect.

In the low-pressure safe water system, 392,667 analyses were carried out (99.1% of the planned total), and 4,235 (1.07%) were non-compliant, a figure partly explained by poor quality in some public fountains.

Compared to the previous year, the percentage of safe water increased from 98.86% in 2024 to 98.84% in 2025. The number of municipalities with water quality equal to or greater than 99% remained the same (225, or 81%), and 42 municipalities (15%) recorded 100% safe water (five fewer than in 2024).

There are still 51 municipalities with safe water quality above 95% but below 99%. This number is identical to that in 2024.

According to ERSAR’s maps, the best results (equal to or greater than 99%) occupy most of the country, with the exception of some regions of Alentejo and municipalities in the central and northern interior.

Most non-compliances relate to pH (31%) and microbiological parameters (38%), due respectively to natural characteristics of the water and failures in disinfection systems.

Two municipalities marked in “red” did not exceed 95%: Marco de Canaveses and Fornos de Algodres.

In the first case, the lowest value relates to analyses of water from public fountains, which, according to Susana Rodrigues, should not even be used since they coexist with tap water, which is of “excellent quality”.

In Fornos de Algodres, it was merely an administrative matter related to the expired certification of the analysis technician.

“The essential message is that there is no such thing as unsafe water,” said the official during the report’s presentation, pointing to the importance of municipalities connecting to high-pressure systems.

Vera Eiró, president of the Board of Directors of ERSAR, also argued that “what provides the most guarantee is a connection from a low-pressure system to a high-pressure system,” adding that the trend is for municipalities to be more coordinated, centered on a joint entity.

According to ERSAR, only 62 municipalities are vertically integrated, responsible for both the high and low pressure water systems, and there are still 180 public fountains as the sole source of drinking water, serving 8,797 inhabitants.

In the interior of the country, in the downturned sector, are the systems that are most difficult to manage, with more supply zones.

If a municipality has many supply zones, often managed by parish councils, it can lead to “non-compliance with microbiology standards,” so ideally these locations should be connected to high-pressure systems, emphasized Susana Rodrigues.

The official also explained that new analysis parameters were introduced last year, but that there was no drop in quality.

Last year, ERSAR carried out 60 inspections of management entities, issuing fines to 32 (especially for failures in the disclosure of data), and ASAE carried out 128 inspections of private water supply systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first of several protests by security forces demanding salary increases kicks off in Porto.

 

28 September 2026. More protest actions are planned in seven other cities. A national demonstration is also on the table, depending on the outcome of meetings with the Minister of Internal Affairs on Tuesday.

GNR and PSP are demonstrating this Monday in Porto , where they are on their way to the City Hall . This is just the first of several protests scheduled for other cities in the country.

They feel abandoned. The PSP officers gathered at the Command headquarters this Monday to then march through the city together to demand that the promised salary increases be fulfilled.

“We are talking about institutions – PSP and GNR – that have been the poor relation of the police sector, that is, we have increased our capabilities, we have replaced other police forces, in the case of SEF, but we continue with the same salaries or with a very low valuation for what was necessary,” said the leader of the Police Professionals’ Union Association, Paulo Santos.

In the morning , the Minister of Internal Administration spoke at a tourism meeting about the need for security in the country and for increased patrolling in major cities .

“The Ministry came up with a separate supplement at the last meeting. Everything is fine. The professionals want to see the situation resolved [but] not through supplements (…). We cannot be here negotiating supplement by supplement,” said César Nogueira, president of the Association of Professionals of the National Republican Guard.

The parade of PSP officers will begin as the sun has set. They will join the parade of GNR military personnel at the City Hall.

More similar protest actions are planned in seven other cities, and the Police Professionals ‘ Union Association is even leaving open the possibility of a national demonstration, depending on how the meetings with the Minister of Internal Administration go , with whom they already have a meeting scheduled for this Tuesday

 

 

PSP – Weapons related crime and assaults in schools highest in 5 years

 

The number of assault and weapons-related crimes committed in schools during the last academic year was the highest in the last five years, with sexual assault and drug trafficking also increasing, the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) revealed today.

The report from the Safe School Program (PES) of the PSP for the 2025/26 school year, released today and to which Lusa had access, reveals that the majority of crimes registered within the scope of the PES are related to bodily harm, totalling 1,426, and insults and threats (920), with these occurrences having increased by 10.5% and 3.1%, respectively, compared to the previous school year.

“Of the eight types of crimes monitored, bodily harm and insults and threats have been the predominant crimes in the last five school years, also showing a trend of increasing numbers of crimes from the 2021/2022 school year (after the pandemic),” reads the document, which highlights that the 2025/26 school year recorded the highest number of bodily harm crimes in the last five years.

The crime of possession and use of weapons also reached its highest level in the last five academic years.

According to the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police), in the last school year, 60 weapons were detected in schools (3 firearms, 50 bladed weapons and 7 weapons of other types), which translates to an increase of 11.1% compared to the 2024/25 school year.

Last school year, the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) detected one more firearm and seven more bladed weapons than the previous year.

In the assessment document of the Safe School Program, this police force highlights that “there is a growing trend in the number of sexual offense crimes since the 2023/24 school year,” having recorded 103 crimes in the last school year, which corresponds to an increase of 18.4% compared to the previous school year.

Drug trafficking also increased in schools during the last school year, with the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) detecting 22 crimes, a 69% increase compared to the 2024/25 school year.

Conversely, the Public Security Police recorded the lowest number of robbery crimes (67) in the last five school years, with a decreasing trend in the prevalence of this type of crime since the 2022/2023 school year.

The PSP also recorded the lowest number of theft crimes (324) since the 2023/2024 school year.

Most crimes occur inside school premises, with bodily harm, insults and threats, and theft being the most prevalent, while robbery and drug trafficking occur more frequently outside schools, according to the document.

Incidents related to bullying and cyberbullying also increased. In the 2025/26 school year, 155 situations related to bullying were recorded (+25 compared to the previous school year) and 25 related to cyberbullying (+1 compared to the previous school year).

Incidents related to behaviors associated with bullying and cyberbullying had been showing a downward trend since the 2022/2023 school year, a trend that ceased in the last school year.

The PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) recorded 4,075 incidents in the last school year, representing a 4.6% increase compared to the previous school year, of which 2,898 were criminal in nature and 1,177 were non-criminal.

Most situations not classified as crimes correspond to disruptions of school activities (508) and situations of possession/consumption of drugs (49), the report adds, representing an increase of 17.9% and 28.9% respectively compared to the 2024/25 school year.