Faro GNR’s Núcleo de Investigação Criminal de Droga, a special drug investigation team unit created a year ago, has already made 56 arrests for alleged drug trafficking and seized around 80,000 doses of drugs, including 1,100 doses of heroin.
Investigations over the course of the last 12 months have also led to the seizure of 30 cars, 15 firearms, 100 mobile phones and 35,000 euros in cash. In a recent operation carried out by the squad, four Cape Verdian individuals were arrested on charges of drug trafficking in the Algarve and officers seized 1.7 kilograms of heroin and 56 grams of cocaine. It is understood that the operation had been ongoing and involved telephone tapping devices. In a separate investigation, police swooped on three alleged drug traffickers as they attempted to land a haul of 30 packages hashish on an Algarve beach.
The raid took place around 18.5 kilometres south of Vila Real de Santo António, after an air and boat pursuit by the Spanish Guarda Civil. The authorities have still not been able to recover the hashish because the criminals dropped it over the side of their boat, in the hope of destroying evidence against them. A court has already ordered the imprisonment of the three suspects pending trial. The GNR officers involved stressed that the operations were only possible due to co-operation between the Portuguese and Spanish authorities, and particularly due to aerial support from Spain.
