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A joint investigation, coordinated by Spain and involving law enforcement authorities from Colombia, France, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom and supported by Europol, led to the dismantling of the largest organised crime group in the Spanish area, involved in drug trafficking and money laundering.

“Operation Beautiful” started in 2018 with an investigation into drug trafficking and money laundering. International cooperation and information exchange, which Europol made possible, between the seven countries involved contributed to the success of this complex investigation.
More than €1 million found in a panic room at the ringleader’s house

On 26 September, after extensive planning, the final stage of the operation took place.

On the action day in Spain, more than 200 police officers carried out 13 house searches and arrested 42 individuals.

The whole investigation led to the arrests of 81 individuals and various seizures including 4 000kg of cocaine, €2 million in cash, three firearms, jewellery, precious gems, luxury watches, 42 vehicles and a 25-metre-long yacht. Properties worth €20 million and 800 bank accounts were frozen.

At present, those arrested are charged with laundering over €7 million.

A well-structured and violent group

The criminal group used different methods of transportation including cargo in boats, lorries, trailers and cars with hidden compartments and a clandestine laboratory.

The criminal network had different highly structured groups, specialised in various activities; such as a security team in charge of counter-surveillance, debt collections, extortion and vuelcos (violent robberies between organised crime groups while impersonating police officers).

The group was particularly violent and recently lost a member, murdered in the city of El Campello, Spain. The multiple arrests and seizures during the long investigation made the members bolder and more reckless. This led to the detection of money movements between the leaders of the organisation.

Europol supported the case through operational coordination, analytical support and funding operational meetings. Europol also deployed an analyst to Spain to support the on-the-spot activities by performing real-time crosschecks of operational information against Europol’s databases.

Lisbon, 01 Oct 2019 (Lusa) – Former director of the Military Judiciary Police (PJM) Luís Vieira will ask to make an opening  instruction prior to the commencement of the Tancos trial, in which he is charged with criminal association, arms trafficking, document forgery, denial of justice, prevarication and personal favouritism.

Instruction is an optional procedural phase in which a judge assesses whether there is sufficient evidence to bring defendants to trial at a date yet to be determined.

The information about the request for opening of instructions was given to Lusa agency today by his lawyer Rui Baleizão. It follows similar requests by former Defence Minister Azeredo Lopes and Major Vasco Brazão Military Judicial Police (PJM).

Luís Vieira is accused in co-authorship with other defendants of PJM, GNR and Azeredo Lopes. will face trial over his alleged role in a suspected army cover-up of a theft of weapons from a Portuguese military base more than two years ago, the public prosecutor’s office revealed on Thursday.

According to the prosecutor, the recovery of military material was achieved through a “true pact of silence between all PJM defendants [including Luis Vieira] of GNR and Azeredo Lopes”, forging evidence and documents.

The prosecution considers that with the connivance of Luis Vieira and PJM elements, including Military Judicial Police (PJM) major Vasco Brazão and the GNR military, with the permission of the hierarchy, they made due diligence with the suspect of the theft and negotiated the delivery of military material with the promise of ” criminal impunity “.

From the beginning of the process, the director of the PJM disagreed that the case of theft of military material was the responsibility of the PJ and, according to the accusation, sent several emails to the head of the Military House of the President of the Republic João Cordeiro “trying to move influences at the earliest stage at a high level “.

The process that investigated the theft and staging of the recovery of the arms of Tancos’s fathers ended with the accusation of 23 defendants, including former Defence Minister José Azeredo Lopes.

Defendants are charged with terrorism, criminal association, denial of justice, malfeasance, falsification of documents, influence peddling, abuse of power, retention and possession of a prohibited weapon.

The case shook the military, led to the resignation of Azeredo Lopes in 2018, and the controversy surrounding the theft, made public by the Army on June 29, 2017 with the indication that it had occurred the day before, rose in tone after the “apparent” recovery of the material in the Chamusca region, Santarém district, in October 2017, in an operation by the Military Judicial Police.

Nine of the 23 defendants are accused of planning and executing the theft of military equipment from the national storerooms and the remaining 14, including the former minister, of the staging that was behind the recovery of the equipment.

SITREP ISSUED 1^ST OCTOBER AT 0900 HRS

The US Hurricane Centre stated last night that Lorenzo has not changed appreciably during the past several hours on satellite imagery, with an eye still present along with a large cloud shield in the north eastern quadrant. Wind estimates remain near 175 kms so that will be the initial wind speed.  The initial wind field has also grown and that is reflected in the wind radii analyses.

The hurricane is now moving faster and has turned north eastward at about 31 kph.  Lorenzo should continue to accelerate to the northeast during the next couple of days ahead of a large mid- latitude trough, with the hurricane passing near the western Azores.

Lorenzo is forecast to slowly weaken on 1^st October due to the cyclone moving over progressively cooler waters.

The IPMA latest bulletin on 30^th September at 1800hrs: Hurricane Lorenzo – Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson * scale was approximately 1650 km west / southwest of the Azores.

Maintaining trajectory forecasts, the center of the hurricane is expected to pass Category 1 on Wednesday (October 2), slightly west of Flores, particularly affecting the Western group. However, the entire archipelago will feel the effects of Hurricane Lorenzo. Therefore, it is suggested to follow the evolution of the meteorological situation through the IPMA website (www.ipma.pt) and to obtain any recommendations from the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service (www.prociv. azores.gov.pt).

Western Group – southeast wind blowing from the north-west with gusts in the order of 190 km / h (with a probability of 40% of the maximum gust exceeding 200 km / h), sometimes heavy rain and waves from the south passing southwest with significant height between 10 and 15 meters, with a maximum wave height of up to 25 meters.

Central Group – southwest wind gusting up to 150 km / h and southwest waves passing west with a significant height between 9 and 12 meters, the maximum wave height being up to 22 meters.

Eastern Group – west waves of significant height 7 to 8 meters and gusting winds of 85 km / h.

The President of the Government announced today that the Azores Emergency Plan will be activated from 2000 hrs on Tuesday, October 1, and called on all Azoreans to follow the recommendations of the Regional Civil Protection Service before and during the planned Hurricane Lorenzo passes through the Region.

At a press conference at the headquarters of the Regional Civil Protection and Fire Protection Service of the Azores (SRPCBA), Vasco Cordeiro also announced that, as a preventive measure, the Government of the Azores has decided to close schools, kindergartens, kindergartens, occupational activity centres and day centres on Wednesday, October 2, on the islands of the Western and Central groups.

A major element of the emergency plan is the prepositioning of the relevant emergency service, the police, Army and Navy to areas which are likely to be most affected.

It is also worth mentioning that there will be some enormous seas on the eastern side of Lorenzo.  The hurricane will be accelerating to the northeast in the same general direction for a couple of days. Combined with the large size and intensity, this is a recipe for an amplified wave field on the eastern side due to a phenomenon called trapped-wave fetch.

 

O Governo decidiu prorrogar o período crítico de incêndios até ao próximo dia 10 de outubro, no âmbito do Sistema de Defesa da Floresta Contra Incêndios. O Despacho do Secretário de Estado das Florestas e do Desenvolvimento Rural, Miguel Freitas, publicado hoje em Diário da República, assinala a previsão da “manutenção do risco de incêndio rural em níveis elevados, (…) Tendo em consideração as circunstâncias meteorológicas prováveis para os primeiros dez dias do mês de outubro, de temperaturas com valores acima do que é o padrão para a época, uma baixa probabilidade de ocorrência de precipitação com uma previsão do nível de precipitação abaixo da média, com tendência para tempo seco e quente em todo o território nacional.

Durante o período crítico de incêndios, nos espaços florestais ou agrícolas, é proibido:
• fumar, fazer lume ou fogueiras;
• fazer queimas ou queimadas;
• lançar foguetes e balões de mecha acesa;
• fumigar ou desinfestar apiários, salvo se os fumigadores estiverem equipados com dispositivos de retenção de faúlhas;
• fazer circular, ou utilizar, tratores, máquinas e veículos de transporte pesados que não possuam extintor, sistema de retenção de fagulhas ou faíscas e tapa chamas nos tubos de escape ou chaminés.
Face às condições descritas, considera-se necessário continuar a adotar as medidas e ações especiais de prevenção de incêndios florestais, que decorrem durante o período crítico, no âmbito do Sistema de Defesa da Floresta contra Incêndios.
Lisboa, 30 de setembro de 2019

The government today extended the critical period of fires until October 10, under the Forest Fire Defence System, due to the forecast of dry and hot weather, the executive announced today.

In an order of the Secretary of State for Forests and Rural Development, Miguel Freitas, published today in Diário da República, it is stated that the critical period is extended until October 10 due to the forecast of “maintaining the risk of rural fire at high levels”. .

The most critical fireworks season ended today, with a reduction in resources in the first half of October, which would be greater from the 15th.

At stake are “probable weather conditions for the first 10 days of October, temperatures above the standard for the season, a low probability of precipitation with a below-average rainfall level forecast, with a tendency to dry and hot weather throughout the national territory ”, is mentioned in the order.

Thus, according to the Government’s note, during the critical period of fire, in forest or agricultural spaces, smoking, firing or burning fires, burning or burning, launching rockets and burning balloons and fumigating or disinfecting apiaries is prohibited, unless the fumigators are equipped with spark arresters.

It is also prohibited to circulate, or use, tractors, machinery and heavy transport vehicles that do not have a fire extinguisher, spark or spark arrest system and flame arrestors in the exhaust pipes or chimneys.

Data available on the website of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) indicates that this year, until September 27, 10,289 rural fires broke out, reaching 41,006 hectares, 51% of forest stands, 38% of forests and 11 % of agriculture.

As of July 1, a total of 4,888 rural fires had struck, affecting 9,705 hectares of forests, 41% of them in forest stands, 43% in bushland and 17% in agricultural areas.

The Regional Secretary of Health stated yesterday (28th September) in Angra do Heroísmo that the Government of the Azores “is taking all steps to address” the situation resulting from Hurricane Lorenzo and “providing effective support to all occurrences that may occur”.

Teresa Machado Luciano spoke at a press conference to present “the evolving situation regarding the passage of Hurricane Lorenzo through the archipelago”.

The President of the Regional Civil Protection and Fire Protection Service of the Azores (SRPCBA) said that “according to the IPMA, it will be the eastern part of the hurricane that will have the most intensity, thus affecting the Central Group more aggressively”. However, this is “a projection that may change over the next few days”.

Carlos Neves said that Civil Protection “is making contacts with all Civil Protection agents and all entities with responsibility in this area, such as Municipalities, Municipal Civil Protection Service, Regional Directorate of Public Works and Communications, Regional Directorate Health, Armed Forces, PSP, all elements that can contribute to the

“We will also increase prehospital emergency capacity on islands that have only one Health Center, namely Graciosa and Flores, with the activation of the SIV service,” said the President of SRPCBA.

“At Pico and Faial, the SIV service will cover 24 hours and we are checking with the Regional Health Directorate to reinforce some more island health facilities,” he added.

Meanwhile the IPMA estimates that Hurricane Lorenzo is “more than 80 percent,” to hit the Azores with gusts of up to 150 kms per hour and waves exceeding 20 meters.

Hurricane Lorenzo has set a record for being the strongest ever to make it so far east in the Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Lorenzo, Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, according to the IPMA statement, was yesterday at 09:00 UTC (10:00 am in Lisbon), 2510 kms southwest of the Azores and moving to north / northwest at a speed of 17 kms per hour.

IPMA forecasts for the western group of the archipelago (Flores and Corvo Islands), according to the latest available data, south quadrant wind gusts up to 150 kms per hour, heavy rain and southwest waves with “significant height between 10 and 12 metres”.

Lisbon, 27 Sep 2019 (Lusa) – The Inspector General of Internal Affairs (IGAI) revealed today that four GNR military personnel involved in the Tancos case have been constituted defendants in disciplinary proceedings.

“Four disciplinary proceedings are pending before IGAI in which GNR military defendants were now charged in the criminal case” of Tancos, says the agency that monitors police activity, in a reply sent to the Lusa agency.
IGAI states that an investigation is also pending.

Six military officers from the National Guard Republic have been accused by the Public Prosecution Service (MP) of involvement in the case of theft and recovery of weapons from the Tancos military base, and denial of justice and prevarication and personal favouritism practiced by an employee.

The MP requires as accessory penalties for these six defendants of GNR the suspension of duties and the ban on the use and possession of weapons.

Among the GNR defendants accused in the case of Tancos are a sergeant, two guards, a lieutenant colonel and two colonels.
The theft of war material was reported by the Army on June 29, 2017.
Four months later, PJM revealed the appearance of stolen material in the Chamusca region, 20 kms from Tancos, in collaboration with members of the GNR de Loulé criminal investigation nucleus.

The MP today accused 23 people, including the former defence minister in the case of theft and weapons recovery. Defendants are charged with terrorism, criminal association, denial of justice, malfeasance, falsification of documents, influence peddling, abuse of power, retention and possession of a prohibited weapon.

The case shook the military, led to the resignation of Azeredo Lopes in 2018 and the controversy surrounding the theft, made public by the Army on June 29, 2017 with the indication that it had occurred the previous day, rose in tone after the apparent, recovery of material in the Chamusca region of Santarém district in October 2017, in an operation of the Military Judicial Police (PJM).

Nine of the 23 defendants are accused of planning and executing the theft and the remaining 14, including Azeredo Lopes, of the staging that led to the recovery of the equipment.

In Guimarães, Braga district, PSP detained two 19-year-olds for counterfeiting and seized five counterfeit 100-euro notes.

In a statement, PSP said that the suspects, with counterfeit 100-euro notes, went to shops and obtained low-value goods, paying with the counterfeit and receiving the amount corresponding to the change.

In each situation they caused a monetary loss of about 95 euros to the merchant.

After learning that several counterfeit currency situations were occurring, PSP detained the suspects and seized five counterfeit 100-euro notes, in addition to 740 euros and a mobile phone.

“Later, as a result of further enquiries in the vicinity of the shops where this took place, two more suspects were identified and a car seized,” the statement added.

The detainees will be taken to the Judicial Court of Guimarães for the first interrogation and application of bail conditions.

LISBON, Sept. 25, 2019 (Lusa) – Three foreign nationals and one Portuguese were arrested at Lisbon airport on suspicion of cocaine trafficking, the Judiciary Police announced today.

According to PJ’s National Anti-Drug Trafficking Unit (UNCTE), the arrests occurred in recent days, following information gathered in an investigation that determined that “two of the detainees were to land at Lisbon Airport from a South American country, carrying a high amount of cocaine with them in suitcases “.

“When those suspects were intercepted, PJ found that they were carrying a high amount of cocaine that was seized and that, if it reached illicit distribution circuits, would be sufficient for the composition of at least 132,500 individual doses,” PJ said in a statement.

Later due diligence made it possible to locate and detain in Lisbon two other suspects who, according to the evidence gathered, were the addressees of the seized drug.

The detainees, three men and one woman, aged between 20 and 51, were subjected to the first judicial interrogation to enforce coercive measures.

The investigation is carried out by UNCTE PJ.

The Secretary of State for Civil Protection has resigned on personal grounds after being made a defendant in the investigation into the purchase of smoke-free collars.

The Minister of Home Affairs accepted Artur Neves’ resignation and passed the decision to the Prime Minister, the ministry said in a statement.

Also The president of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, Mourato Nunes,  has been made a defendant, denying that he was involved in the case of smoke collars, in which he is accused.

In a note sent to the media sent by ANEPC, the Lieutenant General confirms, however, that on Wednesday morning he was made a defendant. The former GNR Gerneral Commander adds that he will continue to “actively collaborate with justice”, but will nevertheless “exercise all the rights that the said [defendant] statute confers on him, in his defence and in order to establish the truth”

The Ministry of Internal Administration, the Secretary of State for Civil Protection and the headquarters of the National Emergency Authority for Civil Protection (ANPC) were searched on 18^th September by the National Anti-Corruption Unit (UNCC) of the Judicial Police, due to the purchase of 70 thousand flammable smoke collars, under the “Safe Village” program. José Artur Neves was made a defendant in this case.

In a note sent to the newsrooms by the Prime Minister’s office, it can be read that António Costa accepted the resignation request of the Secretary of State for Civil Protection. “On this occasion I would like to thank Artur Neves for the decisive contribution to the way in which the changes in Civil Protection operations took place and were implemented, especially in the implementation of the reform of the Integrated Rural Fire Management System, and his personal commitment was decisive in the results”.

According to the authorities, there are indications of negotiations between suppliers of prevention and sensitization material – such as the smoke collars, denounced by JN – and senior officials of Civil Protection and the State. The Secretary of State for Civil Protection, José Artur Neves, resigned after being searched at home and in his office, and was accused. It will not be the only one.

At stake are the Safe Village, Safe People and Automatic Population Notification programs, with subsidy fraud, economic participation in business and corruption suspected.