The five detainees of the “Teia Branca” police operation, which involved Portuguese and Spanish authorities in dismantling a criminal organization focused on drug trafficking, have Venezuelan and Spanish nationalityinformed the Civil Police (PJ) this Saturday, February 21st. The five individuals, between 30 and 41 years old, are detained in Lisbon. Three of them are in preventive detention and the rest are awaiting the application of precautionary measures.
The group – which had “strong logistical capacity and high financial availability” – operated in the Algarve but with “logistical capacity throughout the country”using several locations in the national territory (Valença, Aveiro, Guarda, Lezíria do Tejo, Setúbal) as storage points for material and drugs, which were then transported to Spain, from where they would spread to several European countries, said the PJ agents.
“We have no indication that [a droga] it was to be distributed in Portugal”, said Joaquim Trindade, from the criminal investigation department of the PJ of Portimão. This geographical dispersion made it difficult to detect the group, but, after some unsuccessful attempts, the National Republican Guard (GNR) of Setúbal, mobilizing hundreds of agents for several days, ended up carrying out an operation “without damage or injuries”, said commander João Martinho.
“The group was not very large, but it had high operational capacity and was often successful [antes da detenção]”, detailed Joaquim Trindade, recognizing that “the group is not completely dismantled, but it was a hard blow” and that it would also be supported by national citizens in its activities. “There was a huge need to put a brake on the organization, as we were on the verge of a large quantity of cocaine landing on Portuguese coasts,” he highlighted, adding that the drug was found hidden inside vehicles.
In addition to the drugs, seven high-speed boats (fast boats) and 22 light vehicles, some with high engine capacity, were seized, as well as merchandise.as well as firearms that are not available to ordinary citizens (six AK 47 Kalashnikov machine guns, a VZ61 Skorpion submachine gun and two Glock pistols) and 10 watches costing thousands of euros. “We are not talking about any group, but a group that knew what they were doing and it was dangerous”said Joaquim Trindade.
The operation was launched by the Criminal Investigation Department of the PJ in Portimão, in conjunction with the Spanish National Police, and 11 home search warrants were executed. The research, which lasted three years, “is far from complete”said João Garcia, from the PJ, highlighting that this operation was “an exemplary case” of internal (between various security forces) and external cooperation.
Present at the press conference, Alberto Morales and Emilio Rodriguez, from the Spanish National Police, highlighted that “cooperation will continue” and that this is the only way to combat “organizations that have superior logistical capacity with each passing day”.
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