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Between April 14 and 18, in the municipality of Tavira, the National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC), the Portuguese Army, through the Emergency Military Support Regiment (RAME) and other Civil Protection Agents (APC) together with entities with a duty of cooperation (EC), will participate in an exercise called “FÉNIX18”.

This aims to test the response to a 7.0 magnitude earthquake scenario, with an epicentre in the fault of Santo Estevão (Tavira), resulting in a high level of damage, both human and infrastructural, in the Algarve Region.

This exercise, promoted by the Army, in close coordination with the ANPC, through its District Command of Relief Operations (CDOS) of Faro, began (STARTEX), at dawn today (April 14), at 05:00 hours, reaching its climax on 16 and 17 of April.

Exercising the response capacity of RAME at the request of the ANPC in the event of an earthquake, is one of the main objectives of this exercise, as well as to train and complete the integrated response system of the various APCs and ECs of the Region.

The exercise will be played with the various APC and EC facilities on the ground (LIVEX mode), which will undertake 5 different scenarios, and combines the opportunity to test the Special Civil Emergency Plan for Seismic and Tsunami Risk for the Algarve Region (PEERST-ALG).

CDOS FARO Communication no 3 – 13th April 2018

The GNR Tax Action Unit (UAF) closed this weekend (7^th/8^th April) an illegal casino that operated in a warehouse in Olhão, Algarve, seizing more than 50 thousand euros.

In a statement, the UAF said that in the course of the operation, 12 people were indicted and 53,210 euros were seized, 1080 of multi-game gambling chips and two poker tables, other equipment and gaming material.

The operation originated in an investigation into illegal gambling and fiscal fraud led by the Faro Tax Action Office, which started a year ago, the statement said.

The material seized resulted from six searches, one at the illegal casino, which operated in a warehouse, two domiciliary and three in cars.

Of the defendants, aged between 33 and 58, nine are indicted for illegal gambling and three for illegal gambling and tax fraud.

This action of the Tax Action Unit was supported by the GNR Faro Territorial Command and the Faro District PSP Command.

 

A  Madeira businessman accused of two crimes of qualified derision involving a diamond business, valued at about 82,000 euros, was this Wednesday 11th April acquitted by the Court of the Region of Madeira.

The trial began on October 18 last year at the Madeira Central Instance in Funchal with the 53-year-old defendant from Machico allegedly cheating two emigrants in a diamond business fraud in South Africa in 2013.

The Prosecutor’s allegation alleged that the businessman had persuaded the two Venezuelan investors and residents of Madeira to invest “part of their savings” in the purchase of diamonds extracted from a mine in the city of Kimberley in that country “allegedly belonging to a hypothetical Irish elderly couple.”

Although initially decided to refer to the silence, the defendant ended up giving several versions for the facts of which he was accused.

On March 21, in closing statements, Deputy Attorney General Paulo Oliveira, however, himself asked for acquittal, arguing that he had doubts concerning whether a crime had actually taken place and whether this process “should therefore be a civil trial instead”.

Therefore, the court decided to acquit the defendant of the crimes and also disagreed with the civil claim of the assistants in the order of 99,360 euros, “because to have civil liability there has to be a connection with a crime.”

The prosecutor general of the Republic has set up a team of three magistrates to investigate investigations into football-related crimes, which began work earlier this month at the Central Department of Criminal Investigation and Action.

In response to the Lusa agency, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) explains that this team, composed of three magistrates – two prosecutors from the Republic and an assistant prosecutor – of the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP) and the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP,) will also be responsible for coordinating the investigation of all investigations related to the subject.

The team “will analyze the ongoing procedures as well as the new complaints presented and, as a result of this analysis, will decide which investigations should be undertaken by the team and which should be completed by the departments of the Public Prosecution Office where they started or which were received the new denunciations, “explains the PGR.

The PGR recognizes that this decision results from the significant increase in the number of complaints related to sport, in particular with football.

“Given the high number of cases, their territorial dispersion, and the social repercussions of the facts, it is considered fundamental that investigations develop with global knowledge of the trend, in a concentrated, integrated and coordinated way,” adds the PGR.

The magistrates’ team began operations on 04 April and is active in the DCIAP,

 

 

On 5th April  the GNR Coastal Control Unit, through the Coastal Control sub-stations of Setúbal and Fonte da Telha, seized 1,877 kilos of japonic clams in Palmela and Alcochete.

The action was carried out within the framework of a road inspection directed to the capture and illegal trade of clams, protection of the species and food security. The apprehension of the clams with the presumed value of 17 thousand euros, was due to the clams not having the minimum legal size to be marketed and for not being accompanied by the registration documents required by law.

Two individuals were identified and two cases of misconduct were prepared. The live clams were returned to their natural habitat.

The Judiciary Police, through the Criminal Investigation Department of Ponta Delgada, in collaboration with the Northern Board of Directors, in the context of an ongoing investigation, located and detained a 27-year-old man on suspicion of trafficking of narcotics.

The arrest took place in the city of Oporto and the suspect had links to six other individuals who were detained last March in Terceira Island, in possession of pollen from hashish and MDMA.

The detainee, had already been referenced, was present at the first judicial interrogation, for application of appropriate conditions pending trial.

In the period between 00:00 and 24:00 of 9th April 2018, the Public Security Police, through its usual operational activity, carried out at the national level:

1. a) 56 arrests for various reasons, including 14 for drug trafficking, 13 for driving with excess alcohol, 11 court orders and 5 for driving without legal authorization for this purpose;
2. b) The seizure of 3 firearms and 2 blank weapons;
3. c) Seizure of approximately 1,380 drug doses, as well as 58 plants and 24 boxes of Cannabis seeds;
4. d) The seizure of 1 car in connection with the commission of crimes.

In the same period, the Public Security Police registered 177 accidents, of which 41 were slightly injured and 5 seriously injured.

 

 

On 7th April The PSP Metropolitan Command of Lisbon through the Police Division of Cascais, arrested two persons, aged 19 and 22, suspected of theft.

The events took place inside the train in Cascais, when the victim fell asleep. Later, a passenger witnessed the two individuals, taking advantage of this fact, stole his suitcase.

After contact with the victim, the PSP began the necessary steps to find the perpetrators of the theft.

The interception occurred a few minutes later, in an artery near Cascais Station. Both were arrested after confirming that they had been the perpetrators of the theft, and were still in possession of the stolen articles valued at 500 euros.

The detainees were present at the Judicial Court of the County of Cascais, for 1st judicial interrogation, and pre-trial measures were applied.

On 7^th April the PSP Madeira, arrested whilst caught in the act three individuals for drug trafficking.

The suspects, aged between 21 and 24 years old, living in the municipality of Funchal, were

Found in possession of 359 individual doses of product suspected of being “Hashish pollen”, as well as about € 800 in cash, presumably resulting from the sale of drugs; a light vehicle used by one of the suspects and another material used for the cutting and packaging of the narcotic product, which were seized.

The detainees were made defendants, subject to expiration of their identity and residence and appeared at the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action of the Judicial District of Madeira, for the first Judicial interrogation and, where appropriate, other enforcement measures.

More than 40,000 stray dogs and cats were collected in 2017 by municipal services in mainland Portugal and the Azores, according to data released by the Directorate General of Food and Veterinary Affairs (DGAV).

The data, published on the DGAV portal, refers to the annual report on animals in the Official Collection Centers, provided for in legislation in force since September.

According to the report, requested by the PAN party – People, Animals and Nature, 40,674 dogs and cats were collected in 2017, most in the North region (14,531).

According to statistics, which do not include information on the Autonomous Region of Madeira, 16,144 animals were adopted, 11,819 euthanized, 8,873 sterilized and 98,266 vaccinated (the latter figures include animals collected and vaccinated in the centres and those vaccinated on the continent in the official campaign against rage).

The North region leads the list of the largest number of adopted animals (4,834), euthanized (5,090) and vaccinated (41,257).

But, compared to regions with fewer dogs and cats collected, the North is the region that sterilized fewer animals (522).

Alentejo and Algarve were the regions with the least adopted animals, respectively 649 and 780.

The law, in force since September, provides for measures to establish a network of official collection centres for animals and prohibits slaughter for population control.

The Official Collection Centres have one year from the date of entry into force of the legislation to apply “the technical conditions for carrying out the sterilization in accordance with the legal and regulatory provisions”.