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A Brazilian man died on Sunday afternoon (18th October) on a Aer Lingus flight between Lisbon and Dublin, Ireland, after swallowing 80 packages of cocaine with a total weight of 800 grams and valued at 52,000 euros.

One or more of the bags burst inside the body causing his death. The drugs were found during the autopsy of John Kennedy Gurjão, aged 25 years, a native of Amapá, Brazil.

A Portuguese woman in her 40s, also on the flight from Lisbon, was arrested on suspicion of drugs offences. It is not clear if her arrest is linked to the man’s death.

Toxicology tests have been carried out on the consignment found in the man’s stomach. Passengers said the man became agitated and then violent and had to be restrained.

A doctor and a nurse treated the man aboard the plane, an A320, after he lost consciousness. The captain declared a medical emergency and diverted the plane to Cork airport, landing early evening local time. About 170 passengers and crew members were taken from the aircraft and were interviewed by police about the incident.

The Irish authorities have asked the assistance of the Judicial Police to establish details of the drug trafficking route in Portugal.

 

It was reported on 21st October that the Judicial Police (PJ) have seized about five kilos of cocaine at Lisbon airport and detained a man carrying the drug hidden in two backpacks.

Police said that the seized drug, enough for 25,250 individual doses of cocaine, was carried by the suspect from Sao Tome and Príncipe and arrived in Lisbon on flight operated by TAP.

The detainee aged 33, has undergone first judicial interrogation and is now in custody. The police operation was conducted by the National Unit to Fight Drug Trafficking (NCT) of PJ.

The United Nations drug agency has been caught in an embarrassing row over drug policy after Sir Richard Branson, who is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Police, leaked an official document which appeared to back  decriminalising possession of drugs.

A few day earlier a report by the BBC said that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the agency that has overseen the global drug war for 50 years, has been blocked from announcing its momentous new position – that all countries should decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use. The UNODC was set to unveil the position on Sunday 18th October 2015, at the Harm Reduction International Conference in a short briefing paper which states that: “Member States should consider the implementation of measures to promote the right to health and to reduce prison – overcrowding, including by decriminalising drug use and possession for personal consumption”.

In a devastating critique of the harms caused by criminalisation, the UNODC states: “Protecting public health is a legitimate aim, but imposing criminal sanctions for drug use and possession for personal consumption is neither necessary nor proportionate. On the contrary, punishment aggravates the behavioural, health and social conditions of the affected people.”

However, it appears a member state got wind of the planned announcement, and has prevented or at least delayed the UNODC announcement of its position.

The document was drawn up by Dr Monica Beg, chief of the HIV/AIDs section of the UNODC in Vienna. It was prepared for an international harm reduction conference in Kuala Lumpur next month.

The UNODC oversees international drugs conventions and offers guidance on compliance.

Sources within the UNODC have told the BBC the document was never sanctioned by the organisation as policy. One senior figure within the agency described Dr Beg as “a middle-ranking official” who was offering a professional viewpoint.

The document, on headed agency notepaper, claims it “clarifies the position of UNODC to inform country responses to promote a health and human-rights approach to drug policy”.

On 15 October, an international operation led by Italy and closely supported by France, Spain and Europol, resulted in the discovery and seizure of over 20 tonnes of cannabis resin. The drugs were hidden in the deck of a merchant vessel called Jupiter, flying the flag of the Cook Islands. Ten Syrian citizens were arrested, while six Indian citizens were taken into custody for further investigations. All of them are crew members.

The Italian Guardia di Finanza and DCSA, closely supported by the French OCRTIS-DCPJ and CeCLAD-M, Spanish Guardia Civil and Europol, launched this sharp strike against transnational drug trafficking activities in the Mediterranean Sea.

On the evening of 26 September 2015, the vessel was located by the air and naval forces of the Italian Guardia di Finanza, assisted by a Spanish Guardia Civil aircraft. The Italian intervention teams of the Guardia di Finanza boarded and secured the vessel, escorting it to the Port of Cagliari (Sardinia).

The boarding of the vessel took place in compliance with Article 17 of the U.N. Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs of 1988.

After long and extremely complex search activities carried out by the Gruppo Operativo Antidroga, Counter Narcotics Unit of the Guardia di Finanza- Nucleo di P.T. di Cagliari, the enormous illegal load was found skilfully stashed in a large false bottom under the hold of the vessel with its only access hidden by hundreds of tonnes of granite being used as legal cargo.

French OCRTIS representatives provided on-the-spot assistance in the initial stages of the searches. Their expertise played a decisive role in the subsequent stages of the investigation, leading to the discovery of the illegal activity behind the shipment. Essential intelligence analysis services were provided through the simultaneous deployment of Europol personnel and specialist tools.

The 3^rd Congress of the “Network of Cities to Walk” was held in Torres Vedras, Portugal on 15^th and 16^th October, attended by officials from Portugal and Spain aimed at improving pedestrian safety and reducing road accidents in cities in the Iberian Peninsula. Those attending including officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Directorate of Traffic and the Director of Planning and Innovation Office Services, Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT).

The main recommendation approved at the congress was to reduce the speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour [km / h] in residential areas to create secure spots in cities, so that pedestrians and bicycles have highest priority,” said Pablo Bacchus, coordinator of International Network of Cities to Walk. He added that this recommendation will be made to municipalities and central government.

The network includes municipalities in Spain and Portugal and other institutions interested in improving the situation for pedestrians through the implementation and exchange of initiatives to improve universal accessibility, road safety and the environment itself. The basic guidelines of the network are based on the principles enshrined in the Charter of Pedestrian Rights, adopted by Parliament in October 1988 and in the International Bill for walking.

The official explained that, while not reduce the volume of traffic, the reduction in speed “reduces air and noise pollution and road accidents.”

Pablo Bacchus gave the example of Pontevedra (Spain), which today received the Award Cities that Walk 2015 for its good practice in the public spaces of the city, restricting car use and increasing access for citizens. Because of this policy, the Galician city decreased by 80% the number of serious road accidents involving pedestrians

On Monday 12^th October a flight a Monarch Airlines flight ZB983 en-route from Funchal to Birmingham was intercepted by a French fighter aircraft. The flight had departed at 1040 hrs and the incident took place when the Airbus A321 was flying over French airspace.

The air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft. Immediately, the security protocol was triggered and a Mirage fighter of the French Air Force was sent and intercepted civil aircraft. Communication was then achieved.

The images of the ‘encounter’ were released on Wednesday. One of the 189 passengers said  ‘It was right by our window. It was so close you could see the pilot. It seemed to follow us and there was a small amount of panic – everyone on our plane stood up to have a look.

‘Some people were anxious. My husband asked if the pilot would make a statement but he didn’t speak to us during the whole flight. We fly that route several times a year and it’s very unusual.

A Monarch spokesman said a ‘military aircraft’ was launched following the loss of communication – standard procedure in such circumstances.

He said: ‘Monarch Airlines can confirm that Flight ZB983 from Funchal to Birmingham on October 12 was out of communication for a very short time while in French airspace.

‘As is standard procedure when any loss of contact occurs, military aircraft were launched to intercept the aircraft.

‘Communication with air traffic control had been re-established by the time the intercept.

The Judicial Police, through the Lisbon Board and Tagus Valley, have identified and arrested a man, aged 55 years and a woman aged 44 years for committing sexual abuse against a child.

The investigation found that the victim, a girl now aged 13, had in recent months, been sexually abused by the male detainee. This had the compliancy of the victim’s mother who allowed the abuse to take place repeatedly at her residence located in the district of Lisbon.

The victim is the bearer of mild cognitive impairment and also has great mobility limitations. The detainees were present at the first judicial interrogation, having with an application that they are placed under preventive detention.

On 13th October the Lisbon Metropolitan Police Command through the division of criminal investigation, with the collaboration of the special operations group, conducted an operation between 1700 and 1800 hrs in the area of Telheiras and Amadora

This followed a 6 month investigation and resulted in the arrest of two men, aged 47 and 33 years suspected of trafficking in drugs.

The Detainees were the main responsible for the supply of narcotic drug, particularly heroin, in the area of greater Lisbon.
Following investigation and after collection of all the available information, the PSP concluded that a transaction would take place involving a large quantity of drugs between the two detainees. The operation was planned to apprehend them during the transaction.

Following a house search the following was seized:

• EUR 76.300 in cash;
  • 42 kgs of heroin about 423.000 single doses

  One of the detainees has a criminal record for a similar crime. They have appeared before appropriate court and have been placed in custody.

The Spanish National Police have arrested 89 people including those responsible for a criminal network dedicated to the trafficking of human beings. The network was made ​​up of people of Chinese nationality and Pakistan and aimed to introduce Chinese citizens in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the United States. They used Spain as a transit country moving to the people who dealt with patera floors in Barcelona, ​​Badalona, ​​Santa Coloma de Gramenet and waiting for the forged documentation.

The members of this organization were paid an average of 20,000 per trafficked, threatening their families in case of not meeting the agreed amount. Had links with other similar organizations settled in Spain and other countries, reaching macro function as a criminal organization, why international cooperation has been essential to the investigation.

Investigations agents began following numerous arrests in Spain of people of Asian descent who wanted to board flights nationalities identified as counterfeit Administrative Region of Macao Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, Korea, Japan documents, Malaysia, Singapore, Portugal and Taiwan.

Once introduced into Spain by boat they remained hidden in apartments in Barcelona, ​​Badalona and Santa Coloma de Gramenet. To avoid detection by police checks, the criminal network forced them to move house regularly while waiting for a new forged documents to get to the destination country, because the initial documentation used to introduce them in Spain was withdrawn immediately.

That second documentation that needed to reach the requested countries was forged by the network in China and sent to Spain by courier. Another option was to hide in the luggage of new Chinese citizens who also sought to bring Spain . Once received, members of the organization acquired bills of low cost regentadas agencies by Chinese citizens and Pakistanis. The network, alerted to the police arrests carried out at various airports, sought other forms of access to these countries as trains, goods vehicles and ferries from Spain to France or directly to England

50 members of an organised crime group suspected of payment car fraud were arrested earlier this week in a joint operation led by the Romanian Police (Brigada de Combatere a Criminalitatii Organizate Craiova) and supported by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and the Italian State Police (Servizio di Polizia Postale e delle Comunicazioni.) This coordinated action targeted criminal services misusing illegally obtained credit card credentials and advertising on the Internet the sale of fake plane tickets

As a result of Operation Travel, 50 individuals, including 4 leaders of the organised crime group, were detained in the southern part of Romania. 16 house searches were executed, and a significant amount of digital evidence, computers, mobile phones, SIM cards, memory cards and documents were seized for further analysis.

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Active since 2013, the apprehended criminal organisation illegally obtained payment card information and other personal data from victims worldwide, and subsequently used this data to acquire high-value goods and services, including most frequently plane tickets, but also sports bets, electronic devices, jewellery, agricultural machinery and real estate. The proceeds from the online fraud were also used to facilitate other crimes on the national and international level.

Internet-facilitated credit card fraud has resulted in substantial financial losses for the airline and payment sector, and has been proved to facilitate other forms of serious crime by providing means of transport and funds for organised crime groups.

Europol’s Deputy Director Operations Wil van Gemert said: “This coordinated action is yet another excellent example of how the combined forces of European law enforcement agencies, the IATA and the private sector are capable of severely disrupting criminal syndicates who rely on the outdated assumption that they are beyond the reach of law in cyberspace. Multi-stakeholder cooperation is essential to prove these cybercriminals wrong, and support the airline industry in combating online fraudulent schemes.”

Europol’s European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3) assisted this operation by providing analytical support, facilitating exchange of information and evidence between the involved countries as well as assisting the final on-the-spot operation in Romania