Month: July 2015

The PSP have announced on 20th July that since 15th June when they began Operation Safe Summer 2015 – Police Always Present, nationwide, they have deployed over 15,000 police, 5,000 police vehicles and mounted over 2,000 enforcement operations.

To date more than 1,300 arrests were made, including: 324 arrest warrants, 38 arrests for illegal possession of weapon, 176 detentions for drug trafficking, 16  for irregular situation in the country, 469 for driving with excess alcohol, 170 for lack of legal documentation, 55 arrests for contempt, 25 arrests for assault police including 6 by injuries, 92 larceny / theft. The Public Security Police seized 165 vehicles, 689 documents, 68 firearms, 43 knives and 831 other weapons. In addition seized were 27,500 kg of explosives and over 63,000 individual drug doses (2,716 of cocaine, 2,411 of heroin, 8,421 hashish, ecstasy and 51 698 of other drugs).

On 16^th July 2015 the Public Security Police Command of Porto Division of Criminal Investigation (COMETPOR), the  Special Police Unit – Intervention Corps Intervention and Cinotécnico Task Force, plus  teams from the Police Intervention and Control Squadrons of COMETPOR, undertook an operation targeting a wide range of individuals wanted for drug trafficking in the metropolitan area of ​​Porto.

The investigation started nearly two years ago, under the direction of DIAP Porto, and the latest operation involved conducting 56 house searches and non-domiciliary searches located in the metropolitan area of Porto, in particular Nuno Pinheiro Torres Quarter and the Pasteleira Rainha D. Leonor, resulting in the detention of 13 persons (10 men and three women). The following was also seized:

• 5.2 kgs of Heroin sufficient for about 62,100 individual doses;
• 1.3 kg of cocaine sufficient for about 13,850 individual doses;
• 130 grms of Hashish sufficient for about 650 doses individual;
• amphetamines and marijuana in small quantities;
• € 64,000 in cash;
• Two vehicles;
• Two revolvers, ammunition and several prohibited weapons;
• Digital scales and other items used in the direct sale of narcotics.

 

This is the third phase of the 3 phases of the operation which has seen the arrest of 29 citizens,  11 (eleven) are already in custody; ​​106 house searches and seized 6.5 kg of heroin , 5.05 kg of cocaine , € 160,000 in cash, four guns, eight knives, more than a hundred rounds of ammunition different calibres, 64 mobile phones and other articles used in the preparation and direct sale of drugs.

The detainees, will appear before the Judicial Authorities.

It was reported in the UK’s Daily Telegraph on 18th July that migrants applying for a visa to set up a business or invest in the UK will be required to show proof of police checks for every country they have lived in during the previous 10 years.

Immigrants will be forced to prove they have had police background checks or be banned from entering the UK, under plans for a sweeping crackdown on foreign criminals.

From September, anyone applying for a visa to set up a business or invest in the UK will be required to show proof of criminal records checks for every country they have lived in during the previous 10 years.

Family members travelling with them will also have to show the same evidence. Anyone found to have lied about their criminal records will be banned from Britain for 10 years.

Ministers want to extend the tougher rules to other visa routes next year, once the first “trial” phase of the scheme has been evaluated.

The crackdown follows concerns over rising immigration levels and the government’s inability to deport hundreds of foreign criminals each year, often on “human rights” grounds.

Latest figures showed that “net migration” – the difference between migrants arriving and people leaving the UK – stood at 318,000, higher than when David Cameron Prime Minister and far above his target to tens of thousands.

James Brokenshire, the Immigration Minister, said: “Foreign criminals have no place in the United Kingdom and this scheme will help keep them out.

“Since 2010, checks on foreign nationals going through the UK criminal justice system have increased by more than 1,000 per cent, helping ensure more foreign criminals are taken off our streets and making our communities safer.

“But we want to go further still by preventing these people getting into the country in the first place. Mandatory police certificates will serve as an additional tool to help us achieve this.”

The initial phase of the scheme will apply to “Tier 1” visa applicants who are seeking entry as investors or entrepreneurs, and their dependants. These are migrants from outside Europe who want to set up a business, in the case of entrepreneurs, or to invest at least £2 million in the UK, in the case of those using the investor route.

Anyone unable to provide proof of criminal records checks for the past decade will be refused a visa. Records for minor offences, committed a long time ago, will not automatically lead to a visa application being rejected.

However, migrants will be banned for more serious crimes that resulted in lengthy custodial sentences.

The initiative is likely to be extended to other visa routes in 2016/17 but will not be introduced for short-term visas as this would be a “disproportionate requirement” for millions of visitors to the UK.

Last year, Home Office data showed that 602 appeals against deportations for foreign offenders were successful at immigration courts in 2012-13. These cases included 324 criminals who won the right to stay in Britain under the controversial “right to private and family life” set out in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Spanish National Police reported on 15th July 2015, that they had broken up a criminal organization allegedly specializing in committing massive fraud through “pyramid schemes”. The group had obtained more than 50 million euros through scams from 50,000 people, 6,000 of them located in Spain. After more than year and a half of investigation, agents were able to confirm the existence a company that enticed its victims through publicity events, such as as events in luxury hotels, promotional videos or training talks and offered them extra income quickly inserting ads in their company network. Money that was developed by the company included invented virtual currency, with no value, and thus it was impossible for investors to recoup their investments.

Investigation by the National Police began a little over a year and a half ago thanks to a complaint by a former employee of the company, which was presented at the Interior Attaché in Bolivia. Following an investigation from the complaints filed in different parts of Spain by Police experts in financial fraud and money laundering, this led to 20 arrests, two in Madrid, one in Valencia, two in the province of Malaga, eight in the province of Seville, a person in Langreo, two in the province of Alicante and four in Arrecife (Las Palmas). In addition, 18 computers: laptops, hard drives, CPUs and tablets;numerous documents related to fraud and money laundering; 15,505 euros and two luxury cars have been seized.

In parallel, a bank account in Latvia has been blocked with more than 5 million and nearly 22 million US dollars, Canadian dollars 2,600; £1,600 pounds and AU$ 365 has been identified in the scam

Victims captured in talks and publicity events in hotels

The members of this organization had created a wide network of clients / victims who had been enticed through numerous promotional events, such as major events in luxury hotels with all expenses paid, promotional videos or training talks. The goal was to attract people with promises to supplement their income by achieving the highest number of new clients in the shortest time possible.

These revenues arose from the purchase of the packs that the company offered, and would receive income quickly by simply inserting a series of company announcements on the network.  The packs offered a very big payoff, for example, with an investment of 18,000 thousand dollars one could achieve annual incomes of $ 67,600.

Given this high profitability, the victims did not hesitate to invest in the company, persuading both to friends and family to do the same.

A false virtual currency

Subsequently, the company decides to convert all the money that victims had accumulated in their back-office accounts originally in US dollars into a virtual currency invented by the company.

This new currency had no value so that victims found their dollars have been transformed into something useless, without any chance to recovery.

That original income received by the company was placed in different accounts located in countries classified as tax havens or countries with large tax benefits. The final volume of fraud could amount to some 50 million euros, a toll that could range around 50,000 people worldwide.

The operation was conducted jointly by the Money Laundering Group of Police Headquarters Western Andalusia and specialized agents of the Central UDEF of the General Commissariat of the Judicial Police attached to the Executive Service for the Prevention of Money Laundering (SEPBLAC) ; in collaboration with police Headquarters in eastern Andalusia, Valencia, Asturias and the Canary Islands; and police stations in Alicante, Velez-Malaga, Fuengirola, Elche, Denia, Arrecife and Langreo.

The research, led from the start by the Court of Instruction number sixteen of Seville, it has been directed by the Central Court of Instruction No. 3 of the National Court.

From 17th to 19th July the GNR will increase operations through at patrol and support to road users along the most critical routes in their area of responsibility, in order to ensure safety for citizens moving to / from summer places and / or various events during this time of the year.

During the three days of this 2nd phase of Operation Hermes, around 2834 personnel from the National Traffic Unit and territorial commands, will pay particular attention to driver behaviour that  increases the risk to road safety, namely: · Driving under the influence of alcohol and psychotropic substances; · Speeding; · Not using seat belt and / or child restraint systems; · Improper use of mobile phones; · Dangerous overtaking, change of direction, reversing the against direction of travel, failure to give way and keep safety distances and • Driving without legal requirements.

Operation Hermes runs throughout the summer period, from 03 July to 30 August. During this period the GNR will intensify its actions at various stages providing support to to road users.

Realizing that a lifeguard at Praia do Cantinhoin in Esmoriz, was struggling to rescue a swimmer water, and both were being swept away by the strong current, GNR Guarda Caldas, 33, did not hesitate to intervene.

He dived into the sea and saved the 61-year-old man as well as helping the lifeguard, both of whom returned to the beach safely. The heroic act occurred on 14^th July at 11.00. The military of the GNR, who works with a bicycle patrol at beaches, became aware of a gathering of people and ran immediately to the scene.

After the rescue, although frightened, neither the victim nor the lifeguard needed to be transported to the hospital.

Captain Ribeiro, head of the Detachment of GNR Ovar told the newspaper: “This is not the first time he saved somebody. Two years ago he rescued a person from the sea. So now he is a hero. He always tries to go beyond their mission.”

Circular was published No. 05 / SP / 2015 of 18 June, on “Payment of licensing fees.” This Circular sets out the procedures to be adopted by entities that require the following services and promotes changes to the way payments should be made inherent in the processing:

• Professional Card Application (Personnel Surveillance / Security Officer)
• Initial application / renewal / license endorsement – Initial application / renewal / endorsement of self-protection permit for streamlining new procedures for payment of fees due by administrative proceedings referred to above with reference is made new models of professional card application:
• M-40.1 – Card Request Professional Private Security
• M-50.1 – Professional Card Application Security Officer

The new application models are effective 22.06.2015, must expressly mention who is responsible for payment card – the applicant or the principal to Private which this is bound. For this purpose the form must be completed in electronic form and contain a valid email of the applicant for sending the billing and invoice note. From that date, for the procedures in question, advance payments should not be made (in cash or by transfer) and must await the receipt of the billing statement.

Europol has supported Spanish police* in an operation codenamed Walker, to take down a serious cybercriminal group during a coordinated action in Barcelona. With on-the-spot support from Europol, the action in Spain on 6 July resulted in the arrest of nine suspects, the dismantling of a sophisticated illegal call centre, six house searches and the seizure of numerous pieces of evidence; over 100 mobiles phones and stolen SIM cards, more than EUR 10 000 in cash, credit cards, computer equipment and other devices were taken away for further forensic examination.

The aim of this investigation was to target the cybercriminals and their accomplices who were involved in large scale telecommunication fraud as well as channelling and cashing-out the proceeds of their crimes. The criminals made fraudulent phone calls to premium service numbers set up and managed by other members of the criminal group based outside the EU. Each cybercriminal had their specialty and the group was involved in receiving mobile phones stolen from tourists in Spain, then harvesting and misusing the foreign mobile numbers (until they were blocked by the telecom operators in their countries), before then sending the money earned abroad.

Law enforcement analysed thousands of financial transactions to reconstruct the money flows and destinations across several jurisdictions. The criminal group relied on a network of accomplices who operated the destination bank accounts.

This was a very active criminal group and the damage caused by them is estimated to be at least EUR 2 million, affecting victims in various countries.

This international revenue share fraud (IRSF) is an insidious form of organised criminal activity that generates significant profits for the criminal groups and undermines the legal economy. The global estimated illegal income from this type of crime is more than EUR 45 million. Cooperation between law enforcement authorities, Europol and the telecommunication companies was crucial for the success of this operation, which represents a milestone in this specific area of digital crime.

On 7th July the Judicial Police, in a joint operation conducted by the Centre’s Board and North Board, with the assistance of the Criminal Investigation Department of Aveiro, identified and arrested ten men and a woman suspected of several robberies, perpetrated with the use of firearms.

The gang are believed responsible for more that 15 robberies using stolen vehicles in various locations situated between Aveiro and Braga and specifically on the metropolitan area of Porto. In some of criminal actions, particularly  “carjackings”, the suspects used sirens and flashing lights on the stolen vehicles attempting to pose as Police Officers.

The stolen vehicles, after being used in robberies were then burned or sold.

In the early hours of Tuesday a major Police operation was conducted in the Greater Porto region, targeting this gang, in order undertaking about thirty search warrants at homes As a result they found and seized cars, firearms, disguises, narcotic products, plus other items and documents with high evidential interest.

In some of the neighbourhoods where some conflict was predictable, the Judicial Police was supported by ten Special Unit Police teams and two Quick’s PSP Metropolitan Command of Porto intervention units.

The detainees, aged 19 to 46, some of them with criminal records for crimes of the same nature, will be present at first judicial interrogation, with a view to implementing appropriate enforcement measures.

On the 9th July the Judicial Police, through the Directorate of Lisbon and Tagus Valley, reported that they had identified and arrested two men, 30 and 22 years old, indicted for committing a number of robberies at gunpoint.

The police investigation stems from last year and found that the detainees, along with others who have yet to be identified, carried out between November 2014 and March this year robberies at about thirty premises, including fuel filling stations, pharmacies and restaurants, in the municipalities of Sintra, Cascais, Oeiras and Vila Franca de Xira.

The group wore hoods and had a strongly violent and intimidating profile, using firearms, especially shotguns and pistols, to conducting the robberies, in one case hitting a victim with two shots. The Judicial Police seized since some of the firearms used in robberies and are continuing investigations to identify and arrest the remaining culprits. 

The detainees have been presented for the first judicial interrogation.