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The Judicial Police, through the Board of the South, identified and arrested a man for a crime of theft, which resulted in the death of the victim.

In mid-June, the arrested person entered the backyard of a house located at the Beringelinho, Castro Verde, intending to commit a robbery. At that time, he was surprised by the owner, whereupon he punch and kicked him. After he entered the house and seized money and gold objects.

Following the robbery the culprit fled to another area of the country. The victim, a man of 86 years old died at the end of June as a result of injuries sustained in the assault.

Following the course of investigation the suspect was located in the centre of the country, and was detained on 6^th November.

The accused, aged 33 years, will appear at the appropriate judicial authorities for application to be remanded in custody

A GNR patrol from Almancil arrested during the morning of today, November 7, 2014, a Portuguese citizen aged 22 years old for drug trafficking.

During a patrol to combat crime in the locality Arneiro – in the border area between the municipalities of Loulé and Faro, the GNR located the individual in question who was walking in the street acting suspiciously.

On seeing the GNR officers the individual starting running and headed into an area of dense bush, trying to escape.

He was however caught and during subsequent steps taken, including house searches located nearby, sufficient pollen for 256 individual doses hashish, as well as other objects related to the cut and preparation of drugs plus a number of knives were discovered and seized.

Among objects seized were a grinding mill used for narcotics, a pipe and nine rounds of 5.56mm calibre ammunition.

The Judicial Police, through the Department of Criminal Investigation of Portimão arrested a foreigner for drug trafficking.

During a crime prevention operation to combat drug trafficking carried out in Portimão, several individuals were identified one of them who had in his possession the equivalent of about 50 doses of hashish.

The accused, aged 20 years old, will be present to judicial authorities for remand-reporting conditions.

From November and January 2015, the GNR will be mounting a national operation by patrolling and visiting farms, with the goal of preventing crime in general and, in particular, theft of agricultural products, the theft of copper and other base metals as well as trafficking in human beings. 

It is intended with this operation to conduct patrolling and enforcement actions so that the various agricultural campaigns are conducted in a secure environment, ensuring the protection of persons and property, whilst aiming to identify cases of human trafficking . Actions will include promoting further contact with rural communities, especially farmers, to warn them of prevention and protection against theft, especially theft of non-precious metals, and  the safe use of agricultural vehicles. 

This is undertaken at this time of the year (November-January), as farms carry out campaigns for harvesting, preparation, transport and processing for sale of agricultural products.

 

Europol reported on 3rd November that a joint operation between Spanish and German law enforcement authorities, coordinated by Europol, has resulted in the arrest of 20 individuals and the seizure of over one tonne of hashish, 44 vehicles, 21 properties, a sailing boat and EUR 27 500 in cash.

Spain’s Guardia Civil worked closely with Germany’s Rheinland-Pfalz Police, supported by Europol, to arrest 20 people in Spain and Germany and charge four others as alleged members of one of the most serious criminal drug organisations, made up of Spanish, German, English and Moroccan citizens. Police seized 1.1 tonnes of hashish and other assets worth more than EUR 9 million.

The criminal network was run by a German, who was arrested in his country after escaping from a Spanish prison whilst serving a sentence for drug trafficking offences. This individual was considered to be one of the most active in the transport and distribution of hashish in central Europe, and was under investigation in Denmark, France and Germany. The drug organisation had members in North Africa who were in charge of cultivating cannabis plantations and the whole process of preparing the end product.

After the preparation, labelling and packaging of the drug, according to quality, the criminal network stored the hashish off the Moroccan coast until it was brought to Spain in boats that arrived via marinas on the Costa del Sol and Almeria coastline. The drugs were then deposited in warehouses, hidden in high-end vehicles that were fitted with false bottoms, and then transported to Germany.

Property searches in Spain and Germany resulted in the seizure of hashish, mobile phones, computer equipment, marine GPS and frequency scanners, cars, a sailing boat, a large quantity of documentary evidence and EUR 27 500 in cash.

The criminal network had front companies in Germany and Spain to launder the proceeds of the sale of their drugs. As well as whitewashing the drugs money, these companies were used to acquire vessels to transport the hashish.

As well as coordinating the operation and providing continuous analytical support throughout, Europol provided on-the-spot support on 14 October 2014 with a mobile office, allowing direct access to Europol’s databases for cross-checking, analysing and rapidly exchanging intelligence. Europol experts also extracted data from seized electronic storage devices and mobile phones.

Five men arrested in September 2013 for drug trafficking at an abandoned factory in Mexelhoeira da Carregacao, Lagoa, were found guilty when they appeared before a court in Loule on 29th October 2014.

They were each sentenced to prison from between 3 1/2 to 5 years.

GNR Faro have arrested five men aged between 60 – 70 years responsible for a number of thefts and robberies throughout the country.

Nicknamed the “Beret Gang” because they usually wore berets (boinas), they would enter banks posing as ordinary customers and follow customers who had withdrawn large sums of money. As soon as the money was left unattended for instance in a car, the gang took the opportunity to break in a steal, pulling the caps over part of their faces to avoid being recognized. The gang used top range vehicles to follow victims, including Mercedes and some hire cars.

The gang are believed to be mainly resident in Setabul and were arrested by Faro GNR, who conducted the investigation, in Gondamar. One gang member was arrested in Baixa do Banheira.

The GNR investigation has led officers to believe that the gang could have operated for up to 10 years with proceeds amounting to over €1 million.

It was subsequently reported in the Correio da Manha on 26th October that since the arrest many more victims are being identified.

Reuters reported on 27th October that Spanish police have arrested 51 people as part of a graft investigation involving local government construction contracts, the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office said on Monday.

The investigation, “Operation Punica” — centred around town halls mainly in the regions of Madrid, Murcia, Leon and Valencia — is one of numerous corruption scandals that have hit Spain’s mainstream political parties and many bankers in recent months.

“The collusion between local councillors and civil servants, with builders and energy service companies, and the corruption of middle-men and key companies, has helped them to secure contracts worth around 250 million euros ($300 million) in the last two years alone,” the prosecutor said in a statement.

A judicial source said one of those arrested was Francisco Granados, a former conservative deputy president of the Madrid region who resigned in February after it was revealed he had millions of euros in a Swiss bank account.

Information from Switzerland has helped Operation Punica, and investigators have issued search warrants on 259 properties, 400 banks, companies and insurers, blocked current accounts and assets and embargoed 30 vehicles. (Reporting by Raquel Castillo; Writing by Paul Day; Editing by Sarah Morris and Louise Ireland)

Comment

Excellent, robust, anti-corruption work by the Spanish police.

The Home affairs Select Committee published on 24th October 2014 the Report into the televised raid on Sir Cliff Richard’s home under the title ” Police, the media, and High Profile Investigations”.

The following are the Conclusions and Recommendations of the report with a link to where the full report can be read.

“Conclusions and Recommendations

1.  If South Yorkshire Police believed that the premature broadcasting of a story about the investigation could have prejudiced their enquiries, then they should have contacted more senior people at the BBC to explain the situation, rather than trying to cut a deal with an individual reporter. Given that the BBC had information about the investigation and the timing and location of the execution of the search warrant, which was freely provided to them by South Yorkshire Police, we see nothing wrong in their decision to run the story. It is unfortunate, however, that they allowed another of their correspondents to give a misleading impression of the circumstances under which the Corporation came by this information, downplaying the BBC’s role and suggesting that South Yorkshire Police were actively seeking publicity for the investigation. (Paragraph 7)

2.  Whereas South Yorkshire Police have been very forthcoming in supplying us with all the material we have sought from them, the BBC have chosen to hide their reporter behind his superiors, issuing equivocal denials on his behalf. It seems likely to us, on balance, that Mr Johnson did indeed indicate to South Yorkshire Police that he had detailed knowledge of the investigation, beyond the name of the suspect, and that, whether by act or omission, he gave them the clear impression that his source was Operation Yewtree. (Paragraph 11)

3.  It is clear that South Yorkshire Police’s exchanges with the BBC went far beyond confirming the date of the search of Sir Cliff’s home. The Force played an active part in providing the BBC with detailed information which would allow it to secure exclusive coverage of the search. (Paragraph 12)

4.  This episode clearly points to a leak from within Operation Yewtree and it is therefore surprising that Chief Constable Crompton did not seek to contact the Metropolitan Police soon after the approach from Mr Johnson to alert them to the possible leak and invite them to investigate. (Paragraph 13)

5.  It would have been open to South Yorkshire Police to decide to publicise the name of the subject of this investigation had they chosen to do so for operational reasons. However, the naming of suspects (or the confirming of a name when it is put to a force) when there is no operational need to do so is wrong. (Paragraph 17)

6.  The conversations between Dan Johnson and South Yorkshire Police led eventually to high-profile television coverage of allegations against a well-known public figure. The potential damage to the individuals under investigation means that the police should not give the media advance notice of arrests, the execution of search warrants, and other aspects of investigations of high-profile individuals, except, as we have already noted, where it is justified on operational grounds. South Yorkshire Police have told us that they did not want to publicise their investigation, but offered the BBC information about the search warrant as part of a compromise in which the BBC did not broadcast prematurely the information its reporter had. Senior BBC executives told us that the Chief Constable had only to pick up the phone and they would not have broadcast the story, a sensible editorial policy which should reduce the scope for conflict between legitimate journalistic activity and law enforcement, and which we are happy to endorse and publicise here. We hope that this episode will provide a useful case-study for police forces when considering their dealings with the media. (Paragraph 18)

7.  We are disappointed by South Yorkshire Police’s inept handling of this situation. Whereas it is clear that the Force felt from the outset that it had to cooperate with the BBC in order to avoid jeopardising the investigation, its cooperation went far beyond notifying the BBC of the date, the Force failed to go to senior managers at the BBC to explain the risks inherent in premature broadcasting of the story, and it failed to alert the Metropolitan Police to the possibility of a leak from within Operation Yewtree. (Paragraph 19)

8.  It is clear that Sir Cliff Richard has personally suffered enormous, irreparable damage to his reputation, though he has been neither arrested nor charged with any offence. We have seen recently in the press that Sir Cliff has considered selling his home, which he only bought in 2008, because of the way the operation was carried out, and we can understand his feelings. No citizen should have to watch on live television their home being raided in this way. (Paragraph 20)”

Full Report

”The police force behind a raid on the luxury home of Sir Cliff Richard was “utterly inept in tipping off the BBC about the operation which resulted in “irreparable damage” to the singer’s reputation, the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee said yesterday.

In a highly critical report by the Home Affairs Select Committee, South Yorkshire Police is rebuked for informing a reporter about the timing of the raid, which allowed the corporation to send up a helicopter to film officers going into the singer’s home.

A BBC reporter was told the day when officers were going to search his home and was sent an aerial photograph by the force of the flat on a private estate in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to make sure they got the right place.

The 74-year-old singer has not been arrested but was interviewed over an alleged sex crime against a boy at a Billy Graham evangelical event at a Sheffield football stadium in 1985. Officers were filmed going on to the estate and through the windows of the penthouse as they carried out their work.

Sir Cliff is continuing to work and has a number of shows lined up for next year including five dates at the Royal Albert Hall. The singer is reportedly planning to sell the flat following the publicity surrounding the raid while he was in Portugal.

The reporter received the information after approaching the force a month earlier with a vague inquiry about the singer, according to BBC officials. The force had claimed that it had no choice but to deal with the reporter as they said he had detailed information about the case.

According to Sky News Dozens of emails, texts and phone calls were exchanged over the following month in the run-up to the raid in August and it was clear from these details were being passed that should not have been to a reporter.

The Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee Sir Keith Vaz stated that “The email exchanges could easily be mistaken for a script from The Bill. The force should have refused to co-operate and explained to senior BBC News executives why the premature broadcasting of a story, which they claimed the journalist threatened, would have prejudiced the investigation.”

Mr Vaz added: “No British citizen should have to watch their home being raided by the police live on television. Sir Cliff Richard has suffered enormous and irreparable damage to his reputation and he is owed an apology over the way matters were handled.

“Police forces should consider carefully how they deal with approaches from journalists on such matters in the future. Someone in possession of sensitive information decided to leak details of the investigation to the media. We deplore this”.

The reporter, Dan Johnson, sent one message that said: “Give me a shout before they take anything out so we can get the chopper in place for a shot.”

The BBC is not criticised for covering the raid but said that the force should have contacted corporation managers if they wanted to get the message across that coverage of the raid would hamper their investigation. During hearings before the Home Affairs Select Committee, the Director‑General, Lord Hall, said they would not have run the story if the chief constable had asked them not to.

The chief constable of South Yorkshire, David Crompton, has previously apologised to Sir Cliff if the force was insensitive about the search. The report’s findings are a further blow to the force which was condemned for its failure to investigate child sex abuse in Rotherham.