POLICE SEIZED cocaine and heroin and arrested three people at a cafe in Quarteira last Wednesday (January 30) on suspicion of drug trafficking following a four-month surveillance operation.
Police initiated surveillance after receiving complaints that the São Nicolau cafe in the old part of the city was being used as a base of operations for drug dealing.
Police descended on the cafe at around 6pm, where they arrested the female Portuguese owner, who is in her fifties, and a man in his twenties.
Officers also arrested the owner’s husband in the raid for possession of an illegal weapon and two other men in their thirties were named as formal suspects (arguidos) for alleged drug trafficking.
The four hour raid involved several dozen GNR officers with sniffer dogs and resulted in the apprehension of heroin sufficient for 3,252 individual doses as well as 2,019 doses of cocaine.
The drugs were discovered in an annexe of the cafe that the owners are believed to usually rent out.
It is believed that also seized in the raid was 83,000 euros in cash, two weighing scales, eight mobile phones, more than 40 bottles of whisky, two vehicles, four televisions and sound equipment.
The woman and the younger man were present in Loulé court last Thursday for a preliminary hearing, while the owner’s husband was in court the following day.
The couple deny all knowledge of the drugs but said the money was theirs. They claim the money came from a property they sold and that they did not trust banks.
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