The Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) seized around four tonnes of hashish, three vessels, and identified three suspects during an operation in the Ria Formosa Natural Park, along the coast of Faro.
The haul, consisting of approximately four tonnes of cannabis resin, was intercepted near the Algarve’s Ilha Deserta, located in the Ria Formosa close to Faro.
According to a statement released on Monday, three men aged between 22 and 46 were identified on suspicion of drug-trafficking offences.
“During coastal patrol and surveillance operations, officers detected suspicious movements south of Ilha Deserta,” the GNR said, adding that maritime and land-based resources were deployed to assess the behaviour of the vessels involved.
The force noted that intensified coastal surveillance has helped counter the threat posed by drug trafficking, preventing, in this case, roughly four tonnes of narcotics from entering the illegal market.
The GNR stressed that coastal patrol and monitoring operations are carried out continuously, 24 hours a day, under the remit of its Coastal and Border Control Unit.
Meanwhile, the Government announced on social media today the introduction of a new legal framework governing High-Speed Vessels (EAV), increasingly used in drug and human trafficking along Portugal’s coastline.
The legislation establishes a stricter legal regime adapted to current maritime security challenges, replacing rules dating back to 1990.
Among the main changes are the requirement for vessels to remain moored between 21:00 and 07:00 unless authorised by maritime authorities, mandatory installation of an Automatic Identification System (AIS), visible identification markings bearing the letters “EAV”, prior notification of entry to and departure from national territory, and tax authority authorisation for import, export, and transport operations.
Arguing the need for reform, the Government highlighted Portugal’s more than 2,500 kilometres of coastline and one of the world’s largest Exclusive Economic Zones, saying effective protection requires modern regulations and enhanced operational capacity.
The new law provides for prison sentences of up to four years, fines of up to €100,000 for corporate entities, and criminal liability for anyone who manufactures, transports, possesses or transfers high-speed vessels outside legal conditions.
In Monday’s edition of the newspaper Público, Artur Vaz, director of the National Unit for Combating Drug Trafficking at the Polícia Judiciária, described high-speed vessels as “the main threat currently faced by Portugal, Spain, and Europe” in the fight against drug trafficking.
According to Vaz, traffickers are using these boats to transport narcotics across the Atlantic corridor linking the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands before reaching the Iberian Peninsula.
The vessels are employed both to collect cocaine transferred at sea from ships arriving from Latin America and to travel to Morocco and North Africa to collect shipments of hashish.
He characterised the phenomenon as a growing problem and “true maritime piracy”, warning that it has turned Portugal into “an important entry point for cocaine into Europe”.
Source: LUSA
