Portugal’s National Republican Guard (GNR) has identified 12 people implicated in a landing at a beach in Aljezur in the early hours of Wednesday, 23 September, involving a boat, the security force said today.
The incident, initially reported by a local fisherman, has led to the identification of eight Spanish nationals, two Moroccan nationals, and an additional two Spaniards allegedly linked to the group.
The fisherman reported seeing several people on the beach, telling police of the “possibility that a landing had taken place”, the GNR said in a statement.
The GNR did not disclose the origin or destination of the high-speed boat, nor did it confirm whether the suspects identified had been directly involved in either the smuggling of drugs or the transportation of illegal migrants.
Following the alert, several GNR units were deployed to the area and found 10 people, eight Spanish nationals and two Moroccan nationals, who were subsequently identified. Two further Spanish nationals were also identified after being found travelling in a vehicle with foreign registration plates. They are suspected of being linked to the group found earlier.
The Spanish nationals were formally made suspects in the case, while procedures are under way to clarify the status of the two Moroccan nationals in Portugal, as they were found without identification documents, according to the GNR.
Authorities are continuing their investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident, the security force concluded.
Source: LUSA
Photo credit: GNR
