Month: March 2017

Highlights

• More than 5 000 international Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) with more than 180 nationalities are currently under investigation in the EU.
• The number of organised crime groups that are involved in more than one criminal activity (poly-criminal) has increased sharply over the last years (45% compared to 33% in 2013)
• For almost all types of organised crime, criminals are deploying and adapting technology with ever greater skill and to ever greater effect. This is now, perhaps, the greatest challenge facing law enforcement authorities around the world, including in the EU.
• Cryptoware (ransomware using encryption) has become the leading malware in terms of threat and impact. It encrypts victims user generated files, denying them access unless the victim pays a fee to have their files decrypted.
• Document fraud has emerged as a key criminal activity linked to the migration crisis.
• Document fraud, money laundering and the online trade in illicit goods and services are the engines of organised crime.

 

The SOCTA 2017, Europol’s flagship product, represents the outcome of the largest data collection on serious and organised crime ever undertaken in the EU. Europol has been able to use its singular intelligence capability as the European information hub for criminal intelligence to analyse and identify the key crime threats facing the EU. These include cybercrime, illicit drugs, migrant smuggling, organised property crime, and the trafficking in human beings.”

Five Specific Priority Crime Threats:

• Cybercrime: Cybercrime is a key challenge to digital economies and societies. Cyber-dependent crime is underpinned by a mature Crime-as-a-Service model, providing easy access to the tools and services required to carry out cyber-attacks.
• Drug production, trafficking and distribution: Drug markets remain the largest criminal markets in the EU. More than one third of the criminal groups active in the EU are involved in the production, trafficking or distribution of various types of drugs. The industrial-scale production of synthetic drugs within the EU continues to expand and cements the EU as a key source region for these substances distributed worldwide.
• Migrant smuggling: Migrant smuggling has emerged as a highly profitable and widespread criminal activity for organised crime in the EU. The migrant smuggling business is now a large, profitable and sophisticated criminal market, comparable to the European drug markets.
• Organised property crime: Organised property crime encompasses a range of different criminal activities carried out predominantly by mobile OCGs operating across the EU. A steady increase in the number of reported burglaries over recent years is a particular concern in many Member States.
• Trafficking in human beings (THB): OCGs involved in THB often exploit existing migratory routes to traffic victims within the EU. While the migration crisis has not yet had a widespread impact on THB for labour exploitation in the EU, some investigations show that traffickers are increasingly targeting irregular migrants and asylum seekers in the EU for exploitation.

 

Crime in the age of technology

In the SOCTA 2017, Europol highlights in particular the role of technology. Criminals have always been adept at exploiting technology. However, the rate of technological innovation and the ability of organised criminals to adapt these technologies have been increasing steadily over recent years. Developments such as the emergence of the online trade in illicit goods and services are set to result in significant shifts in criminal markets and confront law enforcement authorities with new challenges.

• Drone technology is expected to advance allowing drones to travel greater distances and carry heavier loads. Organised Crime Groups involved in drug trafficking will likely invest in drone technology for trafficking purposes in order to avoid checks at border crossing points, ports and airports.
• Organised Crime Groups make use of various online services to facilitate their burglaries. This includes checking on social media platforms whether individuals are away from targeted residences, scouting targeted neighbourhoods using free online navigation tools.

Data as a key commodity

Data has become a key commodity for criminals: increasing internet connectivity by citizens, businesses and the public sector, along with the exponentially growing number of connected devices and sensors as part of the Internet of Things will create new opportunities for criminals.

Serious organised crime and terrorism

In many ways the profit-driven nature of organised crime is qualitatively different to terrorism. A nexus between the two exists, however, and may be expanding. Although the pursuit of criminal activities in support of terrorist activities is not a new phenomenon, the involvement of terrorist suspects with extensive criminal backgrounds and access to the resources and tools of organised crime networks in terrorism is a notable trend.

 

 

The prosecutor accused two people of negligent homicide of a girl who died after having “flown” inside an inflatable bouncy castle, installed in the parking lot of a restaurant, in Madeira.

According to the information provided on Wednesday on the website of the District Attorney’s Office of Lisbon (PGDL), the MP requested the trial by a singular court of two defendants for the crime of gross negligence homicide in so called “inflatable case”, which occurred on May 15, 2015.

According to PGDL, the charge “was levied against the owner of the equipment and against the person responsible for operating the establishment where the equipment was installed.”

According to the same information, the two defendants are indicted for that crime because the inflatable did not comply with safety rules and was not intended for outdoor use.

It also refers to the PDGL that, “due to the gusts of wind that were felt, between 70 and 80 kilometers per hour,” the inflatable “rose in the air, with the breaking of the moorings that tied it to the ground, and flew, eventually falling from a height of about eight meters. ”

This situation ended up “causing the death of an eight-year-old child who was playing inside.”

The investigation of this case was directed by the MP of the Local Instance of Santa Cruz, Madeira.

On March 1, the Public Prosecutor of Castelo Branco accused a 46-year-old former Proença-a-Nova firefighter of having committed 17 forest fire crimes last summer.

The largest of the fires, started on 7 September, burned 950,000 square meters (equivalent to almost 100 football fields) and caused losses estimated at more than 2.6 million euros.

The defendant had served in the Proença-a-Nova Volunteer Firefighters for 14 years, leaving the corporation only in December 2015. In the indictment, he did not disclose any professional occupation or motivation for the crimes.

The first fire investigated and attributed to the suspect by the Center’s Judicial Police occurred on July 17, along the Amoreira municipal road in the municipality of Proença-a-Nova. The arsonist went by car and, as always, set the fire with a device consisting of incense stick surrounded by matches pasted on with glue. It burned an area of ​​1800 square meters, with bush, pines, holm oaks, a chestnut tree and a fig tree.

The suspect acted in Proença and Serta, almost always in the afternoon. Only on July 25, in Serta, he set five fires. Judging by the indictment, he then went through a “certain calm period in the first three weeks of August, but by the end of that month he restarted his activities. These only ended on September 12, during which he started  fires with great frequency, which mobilized many resources to combat these.

The most serious fire began in the street of the Valley of the Frade, Proença-a-Nova. The man was already there on August 21, but without the effect achieved on September 7. On this day, the fire progressed uncontrollably and burned thousands of pines, eucalyptus, cork oaks, holm oaks, olive trees, fruit trees and vegetable gardens, as well as implements, cattle fences and two tractors.

The suspect is under house arrest, and the attorney-in-fact of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Castelo Branco has proposed that the measure of coercion remain in force because of the danger of continued criminal activity on the part of the accused.

Four members of the same family, who are headed by a 41-year-old man, ran a drug trafficking network for the entire Lisbon Metropolitan Area.

They were detained up by the PSP with almost 20 kilos of narcotics, valued at 600,000 euros, which could double by cutting the drug.

Commissioner Ribeiro, of the Criminal Investigation Division of the PSP of Lisbon, explained that traffickers rented high-end cars to transport the drug. In a BMW, the police took them “nine kilos of heroin and 5.3 cocaine hidden in a component of the vehicle, a tank that was emptied and used by the network as a hiding place for the drugs.

The 5.5 kilograms of hashish were found in the family home. “This is the biggest apprehension of the year by the PSP,” said Nelson Ribeiro. “The group was trafficking for the entire Lisbon Metropolitan Area and selling it to consumers and small traffickers. It is understood that the group – two men and two women, with no criminal record – were going to sell the drugs abroad. In addition to drugs and money, PSP also picked up material that would be used to mix (cut) the pure drug and multiply the doses.

Allegedly robbed at home by two false EDP officials, Rosa Macedo, 80, had hoped that the criminals would be punished and gold recovered. But the alleged clues she provided to the police were not enough and the case was shelved by the Public Prosecution Service (PM) late last year, as reported by the Jornel de Noticais (JN).

In September 2015, the elderly woman complained to the authorities about the theft of all the gold (rings, threads, earrings and rings), worth 4200 euros, which she kept in the wardrobe. At the time, she described as the perpetrators two women, looking between 30 and 40 years old, who entered her apartment on Rua de Faria Guimarães in Oporto, under the pretext of collecting their data for her to receive “discounts” from light.

“It was lunchtime. They took advantage of the moment when my husband went out for coffee and they went in. One stayed talking to me and the other one walked around the house,” Rosa Macedo told JN, revealing that she only noticed the assault on the following day. “Everything they took me has sentimental value, such as 25-year-old wedding rings and a cordon of my grandmother,” he lamented.

The elderly woman, retired from the Civil Service, indicated to the PSP as alleged “moral author” of the crime a cleaning maid who worked at her house, suspecting that she would have revealed to the two women the hiding place of the gold. And she also reported a “strange” phone call received from someone questioning whether she “was satisfied with EDP.” The maid, heard as an accused, denied the theft. Regarding the phone call, another woman was identified, but claimed that she made the call by mistake and did not make any reference to EDP. Already after the suit is filed, Rosa Macedo says she received another phone call from a woman who demanded money to return a stolen cord.

The prosecution maintained that the victim’s testimony was not corroborated by other evidence.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is urging over 55s to check investment opportunities are genuine before they part with their money. This comes as new research*, commissioned as part of the FCA’s ScamSmart campaign, reveals that only two in five (42%) think they know how to spot a fraudulent investment opportunity. Fraudsters are targeting the growing over 55 population because they are more likely to have money to invest.

Last year, victims of investment fraud lost on average £32,000** as fraudsters employed increasingly advanced psychological tactics to persuade victims to invest. One of the most common methods used by fraudsters is to pressurise potential investors to make a quick decision on a time-limited investment offer. This new research found that more than half (53%) of the over 55s surveyed believed acting quickly can be key to getting a good deal, demonstrating how many could be vulnerable to this tactic.

A third (34%) said it is best not to discuss investment decisions with others and fewer than half (48%) said they would be likely to seek impartial advice before making an investment. These attitudes are seized on by fraudsters, who often urge their target to keep the offer a secret, in order to prevent others from dissuading them from investing.

45% of over 55s surveyed agreed that investment opportunities are more attractive if you know of others who have made similar investments. Fraudsters may exploit this by saying that others want in on the deal or have already benefitted.

Interestingly, those surveyed were more aware of certain signs of investment fraud, but less aware of others. For example, 92% agreed being contacted out of the blue could be a warning sign, but 19% were unaware that being promised returns above the market rate could also be a tactic.  The common tactics used by fraudsters include:

• Offering lucrative returns above the market rate and downplaying the risks of the investment
• Using flattery to make potential victims feel good, such as praising them for being a knowledgeable investor
• Saying that the deal is only available to the target and asking them to keep it a secret
• Saying that other clients have invested or want in on the deal (known as ‘social proof’)
• Putting them under pressure to invest in a time-limited offer

The FCA is urging consumers to be sceptical and cautious before they invest their money. If someone invests their money with an unauthorised firm then they will have no protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme if things go wrong.

To avoid being a victim of investment fraud, the FCA advises consumers to, at the very least:

• Reject unsolicited contact about investments
• Before investing, check the Financial Services Register to see if the firm or individual you are dealing with is authorised and check the FCA Warning List of firms to avoid
• Get impartial advice before investing

The number of pet cruelty offenses registered by the GNR last year has increased compared to 2015, totalling 767, representing a growth of more than a hundred cases.

In a statement, the GNR, through the Service of Protection of Nature and the Environment (SEPNA), predicts that, in 2016, and following inspection actions, 767 crimes were registered, 112 more than in the same period of 2015, which corresponds to an average of two per day.

According to the GNR data, 3694 complaints of ill-treatment were registered last year, 116 fewer than in the same period of 2015 (which corresponds to an average of 10 per day).

The highest number of complaints were recorded in the month of March (374), February (366), January (361) and May (351).

According to SEPNA data, the districts with the highest number of complaints last year were Lisbon (591), Setúbal (556), Porto (471), Aveiro (291) and Faro (240).

186 complaints were registered in Madeira and in the Azores 195, according to the data.

Surveillance of pet mistreatment is done through SEPNA, and denunciations can be sent to the SOS Environment and Territory line (808200520) or through the GNR web page .

The law criminalizing maltreatment of animals entered into force on October 1, 2014.

“Who, without legitimate cause, inflicts pain, suffering or any other physical ill-treatment on a companion animal shall be punished with imprisonment for up to one year or with a fine of up to 120 days,” according to the law. Feathers may be aggravated if the animal dies or becomes incapacitated.

Whoever leaves an animal is punished with a prison sentence of up to six months or a fine of up to 60 days. Source Diario de Noticais

Parish councils will be able to create local civil protection units to raise awareness and inform the local population and support the management of occurrences, such as fires, in the scope of the transfer of competences to the local authorities.

According to the agency Lusa, the office of the Secretary of State for Internal Administration, Jorge Gomes, local civil protection units can be set up at the initiative of the parish council and after a favorable opinion from the municipal civil protection commission.

Chaired by the president of the board, these local units participate “in the assessment of vulnerabilities, in public awareness and information and in support of incident management, as defined in the emergency plans.”

Decentralization of competences in the area of ​​civil protection also covers municipal emergency plans, which are no longer approved by the National Civil Protection Commission and are approved by the municipal assembly after a binding opinion from the National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC).

According to the office of Jorge Gomes, municipalities will assume responsibility for fire safety in buildings, in particular as regards the approval of projects and conducting inspections, if the city councils have quality technicians certified by the ANPC.

Fire safety in schools and nursing homes is also the responsibility of municipalities.

The secretary of state’s office has also advanced that municipal operational coordination centers will be set up, just as there are district and national centers.

The municipalities, firemen, GNR and PSP are part of the operational coordination center of each municipality. The captain’s commander, the hospital official and the president of forestry producers’ organizations may also participate, if they exist and are justified.

Directed by the municipal operations and relief coordinator, the municipal-level operational coordination center organizes and creates the preventive and operational response measures when there are yellow or higher special alert states.

Municipal civil protection services are now equipped with risk and vulnerability prevention and risk assessment, planning and support for operations, logistics and communications, and public awareness and information.

Municipalities with more than one fire brigade will also be able to create operating rooms and emergency management, which function as a “communications and dispatch room of fire brigade facilities”, as well as coordination center meeting space Operational.

Another of the competences to be transferred to the municipal councils and parish councils is the monitoring of the forests through the constitution of teams.

According to the office of Jorge Gomes, many municipalities already constitute teams of volunteers and municipal officials and parishes who, in the critical period of forest fires, use all-terrain vehicles with kits to carry out surveillance, detection and, if necessary, First intervention.

 

The installation and maintenance of the video surveillance systems that the Government wants to install in the forest areas will be the responsibility of municipalities and inter-municipal communities (CIM), although the users are ANPC and GNR.

According to the Government, there are ten video surveillance projects, led by the inter-municipal communities, which will be financed with community funds.

During the commemorations of the Civil Protection Day, which today was marked, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Constança Urbano de Sousa, said that the legislative proposals that allow the transfer of competences to the municipal councils and parish councils in the Protection.

It was reported that on 4^th March that agents of the Spanish National Police and the Civil Guard have carried out Operation “MISSOURI” in which a criminal organization has been dismantled conducting thefts at ATMs Banks by means of the gas explosion. The members of this group used disguises to avoid being identified and explosive and flammable material to access the money that was inside the ATMs. Six people, mostly South American, have been arrested in the operation.

Police found in three houses and a rented storage room, numerous false documents (passports, driving licenses and identity cards from different countries) acetylene cylinders, cable clamps, hoses, car batteries and metal rods, costumes and masks used in thefts, specialized tools, computers, telephones and cash. They used acetylene gas to blow up and steal ATMs.

The operation began after contacts between the two police forces which verified the existence of a criminal group that could be responsible for several robberies with force committed in ATMs of different Andalusian localities, in which they used explosives to access the money

Continuing with the investigations, agents of the Scientific Police identified a DNA profile, which placed the main suspect of a robbery committed at a bank in Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz). During the incident four individuals (two of them armed with shotguns and another with a large knife), entered the bank and tied up an employee and stole cash from the safes.

The individuals also committed eight robberies with force at ATMs in different bank branches located in several localities of some Andalusian provinces.

The information was revealed after the arrest of three robbers in Portugal. The leader of the organization under investigation recomposed the group, bringing from Chile two people who are specialists in the theft of ATMs by means of the explosion with flammable gases.

Likewise, the agents found that the organization used rental vehicles obtained with falsified documents which were sometimes replaced by stolen license plates to commit various ATM robberies

Each of these robberies was carried out using explosive and flammable material, namely acetylene gas which were injected by rubber tubes into the tellers, and using rods connected to a car battery, as a detonator of the compartment. Once the ATM exploded, the criminals used axes, shears, chisels or screwdrivers to access even the money.

It is believed that the group were planning similar crimes in Bonares, Huelva, (about 60 kms from Portugal) where they had an infrastructure in place.

The National Civil Protection Authority will train 1,320 Army personnel to integrate the Special Firefighting Devices (DECIF) for surveillance functions, the Army said Thursday.

“This is a Specialization Course in Active Post-Post Surveillance to be held until next May 11, at the Castelo Branco Logistic Support Base. The course, certified by the General Directorate of Employment and Labor Relations and recognized by the National School of Firefighters, will provide the military with more skills to integrate the theatres of operations to combat forest fires in active surveillance after resolution, “said an army statement released today.

The possibility of the military being integrated into the firefighting device this year was advanced by the Minister of Internal Administration, Constança Urbano de Sousa, in an interview with the newspaper Expresso in February.

The Army’s statement also states that the collaboration of the military with Civil Protection already occurs, “when requested, in the fight against forest fires in actions of surveillance, aftermath and post-civilian surveillance, in the provision of infrastructures and equipment and in the Provision of logistical support in order to contribute to the safety of people and goods and safeguarding the natural heritage in national territory. ”

According to data presented in November by the National Civil Protection Authority (ANPC) and the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), the area burned in 2016 almost tripled in relation to 2015, with a total of 152,251 hectares consumed by the fires.

The number of fires declined by 16% in 2016 compared to the previous year, with 13,137 incidents.

The area burned in 2016 is the highest in the last decade, but lower than in 2003 and 2005.

Fire events, however, have registered a downward trend.