1.1 tons of cocaine, transported to the Algarve on board a sailboat, were seized yesterday by the Southern Directorate of the Judiciary Police, resulting in four foreign citizens of various European nationalities being detained.
This apprehension and the consequent arrests of the four citizens, aged between 28 and 63 years old, were the culmination of an investigation called “Terra Firme”.
"The Judiciary Police came to the conclusion that there was an international network that was planning to traffic narcotics, by sea, through Portugal," António Madureira, director of the PJ in the Algarve said.
The drugs wer not yet in the false bottom of the boat, transport was still being prepared.
"When the drug was seized, it was already on land. At that time, the unloading had already happened. The investigation led to the conclusion that it would have been transported on the sailboat ”, revealed António Madureira.
The sailboat was seized and the alleged traffickers detained, some "were detained to handle the narcotics transport operation, others were detained in a luxury villa that was used as a shelter for the organization and others were detained on the sailboat".
"The diversity and multinationality of the group's composition, the high level of sophistication of its operations, the nature and quantity of the seized narcotic product, strongly indicate that it is a highly organized criminal activity with a transnational scope", believes the Judiciary Police .
Cocaine “would go to Europe. It is normal that, given Portugal's geographical position, international networks use our country as a transit point for distribution across Europe. Which does not mean that some would not eventually return, ”added António Madureira.
Detainees will now stand before the judicial authority to find out what enforcement measures will be applied to them.
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