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The mega case of corruption involving the issue of driving licenses ended in Bragança , the majority of the 111 defendants were convicted in a case resulting in a loss of almost five million euros to the state.

The trial was concluded on Wednesday 13^th December, more than two and a half years after it started with 111 defendants, a result of the operation of the Judiciary Police that became known as the “White Letter”.

The court applied 11 prison terms to examiners and owners of driving schools of between five years and three months and eight and a half years. Five of these defendants were also sentenced to surrender to the state a total of almost five million euros, results of the alleged illegal activity, in addition to other assets seized during the process.

Among those convicted are four examiners who are barred from pursuing the activity for periods of three and five years.

At least 25 defendants were convicted, but they were suspended, on the condition that they pay sums to solidarity institutions, with a total value of around 150 thousand euros.

Among the nearly 60 applicants accused of paying to get the driving license, some were acquitted but more than 30 people were given suspended sentences , and were stripped of their licences to drives vehicles because they were was obtained illegally.

In the process was also sentenced a defendant to pay a fine of 2100 euros who took the examination by another candidate and two doctors who falsified certificates will pay fines of 7200 euros and 5400 euros.

The court read only the penalties of the judgment since the full document would take days to read, as stressed by the presiding judge, in the one that is classified as a complex process and the greatest one ever undertaken in Bragança.

Lawyer Miguel Brochado, who represented six defendants at the trial, between driving schools and landlords, said he would appeal the decision, although he will still review the ruling.

The GNR has dismantled “one of the largest drug supply networks in the district of Porto.”

The operation, carried out this Thursday 14^th December, mobilized more than 200 elements of the GNR, including the Intervention and Special Operations Group and involved dozens of searches in Gondomar, Valongo, Felgueiras and Porto. Fifteen men and three women, aged between 18 and 48, were detained.

The investigation was developed by the Criminal Investigation Nucleus of the GNR de Gaia, which targeted a group suspected of engaging in the sale of various types of narcotics in an organized manner. Some of the individuals, according to the JN, had already registered for the same type of crime and also for armed robberies and other crimes against property.

Suspicion that certain suspects possessed firearms meant that the operation was surrounded by strong security measures, including elements of the special forces of the GNR and PSP, which usually operate in higher risk scenarios. Although eight firearms (four shotguns, a rifle, two revolvers and a pistol) were seized, the operation passed without incident.

In addition to the 21 kilograms of heroin – most were found in one of the houses in Gondomar – the GNR seized an additional 16 kilograms of narcotic drugs (hashish, cocaine and liamba), as well as amphetamines and material to mix with the drug.

The operation also included the seizure of more than 94 thousand euros in cash, 17 motor vehicles, four motorcycles, a water jet, 50 mobile phones, 433 packs of tobacco, a cannabis greenhouse and other material.

The detainees are taken this Friday to the Court of Criminal Instruction of Porto, to determine coercive measures

The GNR has detected 491 drivers with excess blood alcohol last week during which they performed 27,059 BAC tests.

In a statement, the GNR reports that between 11 and 17^th December, they conducted intensified road checks in the driving of vehicles whilst under the effect of alcohol and psychotropic substances.

A total of 27,059 drivers were tested, of whom 491 were caught with excess alcohol and 178 with a rate equal to or greater than 1.2 g / l, a criminal offence punishable by up to one year in prison.

Of the 105 drivers tested on psychotropic substances, three were tested positive.

The GNR’s more than 3,000 military personnel also performed 99,926 speed checks, having detected 2,311 speeding offences and 53 people driving without legal authorization.

The operation “Alcohol and Drugs” was carried out within the framework of the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL), which brings together all traffic police in Europe, in which the GNR is the national representative.

The suspects forcibly broke into high-value cars and falsified the documents needed to sell them to third parties

The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) has accused 40 defendants of high-value car theft and forgery of documents for subsequent sale at home and abroad between 2011 and 2016, the District Attorney General of Lisbon (PGDL) said on 18^th December.

According to the PGDL, the 40 defendants are accused of crimes of criminal association, qualified and simple fraud, document falsification, destruction of objects, qualified theft, aggravated robbery, procession of a prohibited weapon and a qualified physical offense.

Although focusing on the Greater Lisbon area, activity also spread throughout the country, as well as Spain, France and Italy.

Of the 40 defendants, two are in pre-trial detention, seven are required to remain in the dwelling with electronic surveillance, and the remaining 40 are compulsory daily periodic presentation at the police station in the area of ​​residence and / or Term of Identity and Residence (TIR).

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Research and Action (DIAP) of Lisbon with the support of the PSP.

1. SITUATION

Following the contact with the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) carried out by the National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC), it is expected that the temperature and wind will drop for the next 48 hours; weather factors that will accentuate the thermal discomfort:

During the night of today until tomorrow (15 to 16-12-2017) it is forecasted that:

• Temperatures will decrease to a minimum of -2 and 2ºC in the interior regions of the north and central areas
• The wind blowing from the moderate north quadrant (up to 35 km / h) in the coastal areas and stronger (up to 40 km / h) in the central and southern highlands;
• The formation of ice or frost in the northern and central interior regions.

During the night from Saturday to Sunday (16 to 17-12-2017) it is forecast that:

• Temperatures will decrease to a minimum of ​​between -4 and 2ºC in the interior regions of the or north and centre; and from 1 to 3ºC in the northern and central and southern interior regions;
• The wind blowing from the moderate east quadrant (up to 30 km / h) in the Algarve and in the highlands (until mid-morning on Sunday);
• The formation of frost in the interior regions (repeating the same on the night from Monday to Tuesday).

Follow the weather forecasts on www.ipma.pt

2. EXPECTABLE EFFECTS

In view of the situation described above, there may be:

• Gas inhalation poisoning due to inadequate ventilation of heated dwellings using fireplaces and braziers;
• Fire in dwellings as a result of the misuse of fireplaces and braziers or of electric faults and electrical circuits;
• Formation of ice on wet sections of roads;

3. PREVENTIVE MEASURES

The ANPC recommends that the possible impact of these effects can be minimized through the adoption of self-protection measures and appropriate behaviour, such as the following:

• Avoid prolonged exposure to cold and sudden changes in temperature;
• Wear several layers of loose clothing and adapted to room temperature;
• Protect the parts of the body, such as the head, feet and hands, with a cap, scarf, gloves and warm socks;
• Drinking soup and hot drinks and avoiding alcoholic beverages;
• Workers engaged in outdoor activities should wear suitable clothing and avoid excessive exertion during the tasks they perform;
• Pay special attention to combustion equipment (fireplaces and fireplaces), which can cause intoxication and lead to death, due to the accumulation of carbon monoxide;
• Ensure adequate ventilation of dwellings;
• Avoid using heating devices just before bed, taking care to disconnect them before bedtime;
• Adopt defensive driving and pay special attention to road locations where ice is suspected;
• Assist family and neighbours who may need help and support, including older and/or more isolated people;
• Pay particular attention to the most vulnerable groups of the population, such as children, the elderly and people with chronic diseases, as well as the homeless;
• Be aware of meteorological information and the advice and recommendations of Civil Protection and Security Forces.

Get to know the recommendations of the Directorate-General of Health on the care to be taken during the cold and dry weather (www.dgs.pt).

Cases have been brought to our attention recently where travellers, who have previously reported their passport  missing or stolen in their own country, but subsequently found and used it to travel to Portugal, have had it seized by immigration upon arrival.

Once you have declared your travel document as lost or stolen to your national authorities, it is cancelled and considered invalid. The details of the document are passed on to INTERPOL and entered into their stolen or lost travel documents (SLTD) database.

Border officials in INTERPOL’s member countries can screen passenger information directly against the SLTD database.

If you try to travel with an invalid document, entry or boarding is denied. The travel document is seized to prevent its future use and you cannot travel.

If you have reported your passport lost or stolen, but subsequently find it you should report this to the issuing authority and apply for a new one. Do not attempt to travel with a document that you have reported as lost or stolen.

The Metropolitan Command of the PSP of Lisbon, through the Police Division of Oeiras, on November 29, in the parish of Linda-a-Velha, Oeiras, arrested whilst caught in the act, a male citizen of 28 years dismantling a high-end car, which was parked on the public road.

Following the Police investigations, a house search was carried out in the area of ​​Loures, where it was possible to apprehend:

• 3 Mobile phones;
  • 2 exhaust pipes;
  • 1 Garage control;
  • 1 centre console of a steering wheel;
  • 1 Car radio;
  • 1 front glass;
  • 1 Command and key;
  • 1 Sound speaker;
  • 1 Car and various tools used to dismantle the car.

The detainee was present at the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Oeiras, having been subject to a Term of Identity and Residence

In the scope of investigation carried out by the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), the Public Prosecutor’s Office accused a couple, from the district of Braga, of committing crimes of trafficking in persons, pimping and aid to illegal immigration. The married couple, of foreign nationality, without other known professional activity, used several for prostitution, resorting to the raising of women of foreign nationality, some with recourse to the achievement in its country of origin.

The judgment found the two foreign nationals guilty of crimes of trafficking in persons, aiding illegal immigration and pimping, and sentenced them in a single sentence of imprisonment of five years, suspended from execution for an equal period. They were ordered to pay the sum of € 1,750.00 to the “O Ninho” Association, and must prove that payment in the proceedings within a year and six months after the final sentence of this judgment.

A national citizen was also found guilty of the crimes of pimping and aiding illegal immigration, responsible for renting the apartments, and sentenced to a prison term of one year and six months, suspended from execution for an equal period, subject to the obligation to pay the amount of € 1,250.00 to the “O Ninho” Association, and must also prove that payment in the case file within the suspension period.

That judgment, subject to appeal, also acquitted two other citizens who had been accused of committing crimes of pimping and aid to illegal immigration and ordered that SEF be supplied with computer equipment, mobile phones and vehicles.

In October 2014, the SEF had already executed two search warrants in housing and in a vehicle, seizing voluminous documentation related to crimes under investigated including, computer equipment, mobile phones and cash.

The investigation involved a substantial number of investigations, the collection of testimony and other means of obtaining evidence, and made it possible to ascertain the high profits received by the defendants.

On 2^nd December the GNR Territorial Command of Braga, rescued four women and a man, aged between 22 and 25, of Italian and Slovenian nationality, who were lost in the Peneda-Gerês National Park.

A group of young people, who were taking a trail, became disoriented and asked for help to GNR at 18:00 hrs, via emergency contact 112, unable to specify their location. Three patrols were immediately deployed in all-terrain vehicles to the area between the Parque das Termas do Gerês and the Miradouro da Boneca where the youngsters were supposed to be lost, since there were few references given by them.

In this urgent action of search and rescue, due to the fall of the night, the difficult accesses and the low temperatures registered at that moment, around 3ºC, the rescue was  coordinated through the Situation Room of the Territorial Command of Braga. The operation was directed based on GPS coordinates, sent by the Messenger application, in real time, from the mobile phone of one of the young people, which allowed them to direct the patrols and locate the group, an hour after the alert was given.

The youngsters when they were found showed signs of fatigue, and were assisted and transported to Vila do Gerês, but did not require hospital treatment.

The operation involved military personnel from the Gerês Territorial Post, Terras de Bouro Territorial Post and a Team for the Protection of Nature and the Environment.

Between 1^st and 4^th December the GNR Coastal Control Unit (UCC), seized 3 770 kilos of clams, with a value of 29,110 euros, in the vicinity of the cities of Porto and Lisbon.

The Matosinhos Coastal Detachment Detachment, in the course of an inspection of the transportation of fish, shellfish and crustaceans, today, on December 4, seized 750 kilos of clams, with a  value of 6 750 euros. The merchandise seized was detected in a light goods vehicle, and it was found that there were irregularities in the fulfilment of the transport documents, as well as the value of the catch was higher than allowed by law per vessel, far exceeding the permitted number of kilos.

The Lisbon Coastal Detachment Detachment, through the Coastal Control Sub-Station of Fonte da Telha, during the weekend, seized 3020 kilos ofclamss, with a value of 22 360 euros.

Part of this seizure was the result of a number of surveillance actions aimed at controlling the transport and commercialization of clams, where the soldiers detected an individual to catch 610 kg of these bivalves were seized in Estuary of the river Tagus.

The remaining 2410 kg of Japanese clams were seized in the towns of Alcochete and Samouco, and the military detected several individuals carrying out the transport of them without being accompanied by the necessary registration documents for their collection and transportation.

In the total of these actions, the UCC identified three individuals and prepared three counts of infractions.

The live clams were returned to their natural habitat.