By: CECÍLIA PIRES
TWO COMPUTERS and several mail packages were taken in a raid on the Junta de Freguesia (parish council) building in Mexilhoeira Grande, near Portimão, over the bank holiday weekend. The building also houses the local library and the post office.
The GNR were called by the president of the Junta de Freguesia, Ventura do Cerro Martins, who was alerted by the library’s workers on Saturday afternoon. “They arrived at the building to open the library as usual when they saw a door open and some objects out of place,” he told The Resident. “They immediately called me and I contacted the local authorities.”
A spokesman for the GNR said they were still to confirm when the robbery happened and refused to reveal if there were any suspects, only saying that they appeared to be looking for the goods storage in one of the rooms of the post office, which has armoured doors. Ventura do Cerro Martins said it seems that a disc cutter was used to open the door, adding that the marks found on the lock were similar to the ones left by that sort of equipment.
A full assessment of the damage and what else may have been stolen was still being made at the beginning of the week but no hardware equipment was taken from the post office area, only packages and letters.
Downsizing
The post office of Mexilhoeira Grande is based in the local Junta de Freguesia as a result of a protocol signed in 2003 between the ANAFRE, the national board of Juntas de Freguesia, and CTT, the national post office company. The agreement resulted from a downsizing strategy of the national company, which is still ongoing.
Last week, the postal workers national union (SNTCT) spoke out about the company’s intention of transferring or closing several other post offices in the Algarve.
The post office of Vila Nova de Cacela, in Vila Real de Santo António district, was closed at the beginning of last week, with all the services being transferred to a private agent who will be based in the local Junta de Freguesia.
Marking the International Day of Postal Services on Tuesday, the union said that when a postal service is transferred to private agents, they are not committed to maintaining the branch, which it says threatens the service in the long term. As an example, the union quoted the case of the Luz de Tavira branch, which was transferred in 2004 and is now under threat of closure.
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