PSP police have identified three men believed to be behind the devastating wave of vandalism that left Olhão shopkeepers and its local authority with thousands of euros worth of damage in the early hours of Friday morning (January 16).
According to PSP’s Faro district command, the suspects are Portuguese and aged between 21 and 28. They now face trial as the PSP investigation continues.
The motives for the rampage, if indeed there were any, have not yet been established.
According to Olhão mayor António Pina, it was simply a case of "stupid vandalism".
The path of destruction began in the early hours of Friday morning and spread over a kilometre, from the town hall building in the historic town centre to the Social Security offices, near Avenida Bernardino da Silva - the site of the railway crossing that has generated a number of "attacks" since rail authority Refer limited access last October.
The town hall had almost all its first floor windows smashed and the vandals even gained access to one of the ground floor offices, where they destroyed a computer monitor. Windows of a car parked nearby were also smashed.
The gang then turned its attention to the protective glass of a religious icon in Olhão museum as well as the storefronts of an estate agent, tax offices and finally the Social Security building.
This news story was reproduced with kind permission of the Algarve Resident. For more news, see www.portugalresident.com.
Photo courtesy of the Portugal Resident
