Chairman of Portuguese bank BIC, Mira Amaral, said today that there was no excuse for the actions of the men who robbed him while he was enjoying a holiday in the Algarve.
The men entered Portugal with false identities and went on a three day spree of robberies in Lisbon, Faro and at beaches and luxury hotels in Quinta do Lago.
The GNR nabbed the Algerians, before they could do any more damage to the region's crime statistics, at the hotel where they were staying in Quarteira.
Mira Amaral, one of the victims, said yesterday in Loulé court that he wants to see the two Algerians convicted , "I do not condone these actions," said Amaral.
The pair was wanted by Interpol for thefts in Monaco and Marseille and a parallel investigation is looking at the links between the profits from their crimes serving to finance extremist groups.
The crime spree took place in August 2013 after the pair arrived in Portugal from Brussels.
When in Lisbon they stole €150 and a cellphone and then travelled to the Algarve and continued their thefts; first at Faro beach, then in Quinta do Lago.
"They stole jewels from my wife and a collection of watches," said Amaral in court.
Another victim was a taxi driver who said that the men had stolen about €1,000 from him when he drove the men from Faro to Quinta do Lago, "They wanted to know where the beach was, where the hotels were and the nightclubs."
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