Month: May 2019

The PSP has made 53 arrests between Saturday morning and today 19th May, 39 of which related to the festivities of the winning of the football league by Benfica, the PSP said.

A note from the PSP revealed that, as part of the operational activity of the Lisbon Metropolitan Command, through surveillance operations in a 24-hour period, since 9:00 am on Saturday, “made 53 arrests”, of which 17 were for “Illegal possession of pyrotechnic devices”.

The remaining detainees are: drunk driving  (ten), driving without a license, illegal possession of a weapon (6),  drug trafficking (5), execution of arrest warrant  (3), disobedience (2) and theft” (one).

Most arrests for possession of pyrotechnics are related to the celebrations of winning the title of Portuguese football champion by Sport Lisboa e Benfica, which lasted the night in Marquês de Pombal Square, a PSP source told Lusa.

The operations also led to the seizure of 103.91 grams of hashish, corresponding to 207.82 individual doses of consumption, explained the PSP in the same statement.

Benfica secured their 37th Portuguese league title on Saturday with a 4-1 win at home to Santa Clara, who finished with 87 points, two more than FC Porto.

 

A 67-year-old man was caught in the act of committing a crime of causing a forest fire on Thursday 16^th May by GNR soldiers from the Alcains Territorial Post.

In a statement, the Territorial Command of Castelo Branco of the GNR explained that “The military went immediately to the scene, eventually arresting the suspect who was carrying out a burning, over which he lost control, spreading the fire to an area of ​​bush and cork trees,” reads the note.

The GNR said that the burning of fires was prohibited in the municipality of Castelo Branco, due to the “high risk of rural fires”

The detainee was constituted defendant and subject to pre-trial conditions of a term of identity and residence, and the facts were sent to the Judicial Court of the District of Castelo Branco.

Comment

The burning of uncut vegetation or piled cut debris when the fire risk is HIGH and above or VERY HIGH respectively, or when temporary measures have been put in place by Government, is prohibited and carries heavy fines. Likewise in conditions whereby such burning are allowed and permission give, any burning becoming out of control also carries severe penalties. People are reminded for the safety of everyone to comply with the law.

Revision of the “Arms Act” was unanimously approved by the Assembly of the Republic.

The sixth amendment to the Legal Regiment of Arms and Ammunition is approved. The so-called “Law of Arms” was voted on Wednesday 15^th May with the approval of all parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic and imposes a maximum of 25 shotguns and rifles per hunter.

The first proposal put forward by the Government for the reformulation of the standard has generated a strong opposition among hunters, collectors, shooting practitioners, gunsmiths and many of those who have a license to use and carry a weapon.

They argued that the new definitions of what is a weapon and the restrictions imposed would increase the discretionary power of those who oversee and could increase the arms trade.

The associations linked to the sector also ensured that the initial wording of the law would allow for various interpretations of what is a crime and prohibited legal hitherto weapons

On 13^th May APAV presented the statistical report of the Support Network for Relatives and Friends of Victims of Homicide and Victims of Terrorism (RAFAVHVT). The report reports to the year 2018 on the support provided by this sub-network of APAV and the work of the Observatory of Homicide Crimes (OCH) – Press Office of Murder Crimes in Portugal and Portuguese Dead Abroad.

In 2018, the RAFAVHVT dealt with 1218 cases, including new support processes and cases that it has been monitoring from previous years, to which 28 attempted murder crimes and 19 homicide crimes in the consummated form were added in 2018

The report concluded that domestic violence resulting in death is disproportionately high in Portugal and in nearly a third of cases reported to the country’s Victim Support Association (APAV) there was an intimate relationship between the victim and the attacker.

“Relationships between spouses, boyfriends and girlfriends, ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, partners and ex-partners, represent 31.25% of all different types of relationships,” APAV said.

Analysing the 38 cases of attempted homicide presented by the support network, the number showed that almost 40% of them (11) resulted from an intimate relationship between the aggressor and the victim, with four cases committed by the spouse, three by a partner and three others by an ex-partner.

In statements to Lusa, the head of the network, Bruno Brito, pointed out that “it is worrying” the issue of proximity between the culprit of the crime and the victim, and how that represents a “fairly large slice” among the reported homicides.

Brito said there were 87 cases of homicide in Portugal last year, 32 (36.78%) of which in the context of domestic violence, 20 (23%) of which with female victims.

APAV said that it continues to establish partnerships with Portuguese authorities while waiting for an official protocol with the ministry of foreign affairs to have a systematic procedure and all the situations of Portuguese murdered abroad may have the same type of follow-up.

A passenger flying to Funchal had to pay a fine of two thousand euros for having put the phone in “flight mode” instead of turning it off

If you travel by plane, you know that during the trip you should turn off your mobile phone or put it in “flight mode”. The reason for doing so is that the device may interfere with the aircraft’s communications system.

But not completely turning off the phone may end up in fine. This is what happened to a passenger who was traveling to Funchal. According to Deco (Consumer organisation), this passenger disobeyed the indications of the crew to turn off the device and put it in “flight mode” only. The result was a fine of two thousand euros.

When he landed at Funchal, the passenger had the authorities waiting for him to identify him. Months later, the passenger was notified by the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) to pay a fine of two thousand euros, on the grounds that the aircraft could interfere with the airplane’s communications system, even in “flight mode”.

The matter advanced to court and in a first phase, the Court of Competition, Regulation and Supervision was right to the passenger, who argued that “mobile phones have evolved a lot in recent years” and that the safety rules of the plane were mismatched. However, the Lisbon Court of Appeal decided that the fine should be paid. In the accord, quoted by Deco, it is read that in the case of the safety of all, the company can only change the procedures by means of instructions express and clear taking into account the construction of the aircraft.

Under the regime for the prevention and prosecution of illegal acts committed on board commercial flights, using a mobile phone or any other electronic device during flight, when prohibited, constitutes a very serious misdirection. The prohibition shall be communicated to passengers at the beginning of the flight and, where possible, at the time of purchase of the ticket. In question is a fine ranging from two to four thousand euros.

Despite this decision, most airlines have relaxed their rules since 2014. For example, TAP already authorizes the use of smartphones, tablets or laptops while travelling, as long as they are connected in “flight mode”. Already during take-off and landing, the laptop computer should be turned off and saved.

When in doubt, it is best to clarify with the crew members.

On 14^th May the PJ and the Tax Authority undertook searches in the Greater Porto area, in a mega-operation involving suspicions of crimes related to fraud in obtaining community subsidies

The operation, known as the “Final Deadline”, was the result of an investigation into money laundering, tax fraud, fraudulent insolvency and fraud in obtaining EU subsidies – through the Agency of Development and Cohesion (ADC).

The operation involved inspectors of the PJ and the Tax Authority, and magistrates of the Public Prosecution Service. The searches took place in the Greater Porto area.

The PJ stated that this operation, which involved the participation of about 70 investigators of the Northern Judicial Police Board and tax inspectors of the Port Authority of the Tax Authority, 22 home searches were carried out, seven persons, aged between 25 and 50 years old, were detained in the municipalities of Paredes, Paços de Ferreira, Vila Nova de Gaia, Vila do Conde, Santa Maria da Feira and Matosinhos, and are strongly suspected of these crimes.

According to PJ, according to what has been investigated so far, “the principal accused, managing partner of a commercial company in the furniture industry, created a criminal scheme using an intricate fraudulent billing system, counting on the collaboration and participation of heads of various societies.”

With levels requested for financing which exceeded actual requirements and, “in collusion” with other suppliers’ companies, “they presented a financing project with the” Portugal 2020 Program “, This gave an appearance of normality to the transactions carried out but used  false invoicing issue in the period  from at least from May 2015 to August 2016 .

According to the PJ, they were able to obtain, through the ADC, “an overall amount of Community subsidies of around € 3,100,000.00 (three million and one hundred thousand euros), which were transferred to their accounts for personal gain”.

The investigation also found that “the principal defendant, by himself and / or by intermediaries, was managing his companies in an irregular manner, culminating such procedures leading to the insolvency of the main company, which left a liability of about € 10 million Euros, with the Portuguese State being the most affected.”

In the course of the police operation, several cars, computer equipment and mobile phones were seized and various documents of an accounting and tax nature were seized.

The detainees will be heard in court this Thursday for the first judicial interrogation and enforcement of the coercion measures.

Prime Minister António Costa has reiterated “the call for a national mobilization” to continue to change the attitude and behaviour towards the forest and rural fires during a biweekly debate on “Strategy and Management of Rural Fires”, in the Assembly of the Republic.

This change is “fundamental for the revitalization of the interior, mitigation of climate change for future generations”, he stressed.

The Prime Minister recalled that “in 2017, the Portuguese society recognized the limitations of a combat-centred system, which coexisted with a self-reliant landscape and where risky behaviour occurred”.

A new consensus was created that “has given priority to structural reform of the forest and preventive action on measures centred on combat”.

António Costa said that because of the climate change that “increases the danger and frequency of fires, we will only be less vulnerable if we change the landscape, if we ensure the active management of the forest and the interfaces with the villages and if we change behaviour, regarding burning of uncut vegetation and piles of debris that cause more than half of the fires’.

Structural measures

If in 2018 there was a ‘44% reduction in the number of fires and a 68% reduction in the area burned compared to the average of the previous 10 years’, this should not give the country a sense of security because ‘structural risk persists’.

António Costa emphasized that “prevention and fighting can only contribute to gaining some time for the forestry sector to reform and structural measures produce results”, so “postponing structural measures is postponing sustained results”.

The structural measures are the reform of the reform of the forest approved by the Government in 2016, one of which – “the extension of the simplified cadastre model to the whole country, after the positive results achieved in the pilot project that we have already executed” – is still awaiting parliamentary approval.

Point of situation

The Prime Minister took stock of the preventive actions that reinforce the resilience of the territory and of the infrastructures, of which the Safe Villages and Safe Persons program, which prepared more than 1863 settlements, was highlighted, and 1430 local security officers were identified and identified 1442 shelter locations.

António Costa also mentioned “the reform of the forest fire prevention and control model, bringing these two activities closer together, focusing on the professionalization and training of agents, and promoting their progressive specialization”.

The Prime Minister pointed out that there was also a “significant qualification of instruments for anticipating risk scenarios, interpretation and meteorological information, fire analysis” “in decision support cells at different levels of command”.

Experts from Europol’s Intellectual Property Crime Coordinated Coalition – IPC3 supported the Italian NAS Carabinieri and the Tribunal of Darmstadt in Germany, in the arrest of 20 individuals and the seizure of 150 000 litres of fake olive oil. The criminals, who raked in up to € 8 million every year in criminal profit, modified the colour of low quality oils to sell them on the Italian and German markets as extra virgin olive oil.

The investigation began with the identification of a criminal organisation suspected of tampering with large quantities of sunflower oil in Italy. The gang made this poor quality oil look like extra virgin olive oil by adding chlorophyll, beta-carotene and soya oil. After this process, the suspects sold the counterfeit oil on the German market, trying to sell it to restaurant owners.

The activities at this oil mill were carried out in unsanitary conditions. While some of the workers were responsible for the production and packaging of the product, the ones with bigger credit worthiness delivered the fake oil in lorries every two weeks.

Once in Germany, the counterfeit product was stored in logistics companies waiting to be distributed onto the German market. In some instances, the fake olive oil completely replaced the genuine one.
20 house searches were carried out in Italy and Germany and a total of 150 000 litres of fake olive oil seized at different locations, including five lorries transporting 23 000 litres of counterfeit oil each.
It is estimated that the suspects gained around €8 million every year, taking into account that they acquired one million litres of sunflower oil every year for approximately one million euros, and they sold the counterfeit product between € 5 and €10 per litre.

According to Europol pickpocketing has established itself as an ubiquitous phenomenon, driving crime numbers and affecting the perceived security of citizens all over Europe.

Although sometimes still considered petty crime, a huge share of the offences are committed by highly professional groups, who use their mobility across borders to challenge established law enforcement practices and often gain millions of illegal profit. While the group leaders use this money to finance a luxury lifestyle, many of the acting pickpockets, among them also minors, are exploited “foot soldiers” and not seldom victims of trafficking of human beings.

It has, more than ever, become necessary for law enforcement to coordinate and cooperate on an international level, focussing on the structures of the groups, including instigators and facilitators as well as carrying out financial investigations with the aim to identify beneficiaries and recover assets.

As a follow-up to previous conferences, Europol once again hosted and supported the European Pickpocketing Conference, organised and conducted by Germany’s Munich Police Headquarters, from 6 to 8^th of May at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague. More than 170 experts from police, prosecution offices and universities, representing Europol as well as the following 23 European countries participated in the event: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Chile also sent two delegates to support the European countries in tackling this phenomenon. More and more offenders are travelling to Europe from outside the continent to commit property crime, which is why the Chilean presence was of great value for the European pickpocketing investigators.

In an effort to combat organised pickpocketing crime, participants shared experience gained from investigations conducted against mobile organised crime groups in their respective countries. Several operations against specific groups of pickpockets were presented, displaying not only the need for, but also the success of tight collaboration between the European states affected. The participants also exchanged knowledge in several workshops on different pickpocketing-related issues. Among the topics were best practice tactics, prevention and technological innovations, but also more abstract subjects focussing on psychological aspects, such as new approaches to behavioural science. Along with the presentations and discussions, some officers took part in a hands-on workshop that was carried out in the streets Amsterdam.

The aim of the conference was to facilitate and encourage an even stronger international cooperation. All participants agreed to further strengthen existing networks for exchanging information and to support each other in investigations, operations and regarding strategic approaches.

 

O Ministro da Administração Interna, Eduardo Cabrita, e o Secretário de Estado das Florestas e do Desenvolvimento Rural, Miguel Freitas, assinaram um despacho que proíbe a realização de queimadas e de queimas de sobrantes de exploração entre 11 e 14 de maio de 2019, nos distritos de Beja, Bragança, Castelo Branco, Évora, Faro, Guarda, Lisboa, Portalegre, Santarém e Setúbal

A proibição resulta:

Das informações do Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera sobre o agravamento do risco de incêndio para a globalidade do território do Continente; – Do aviso à população da Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil sobre o perigo de incêndio rural; – Do comunicado técnico-operacional da Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil que determina a passagem ao Estado de Alerta Especial Amarelo do Dispositivo Especial de Combate a Incêndios Rurais nos distritos de Beja, Évora e Faro; – Do comunicado técnico-operacional da Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil que determina a passagem ao Estado de Alerta Especial Azul, que passará a Amarelo às 00h00 de dia 12, do Dispositivo Especial de Combate a Incêndios Rurais nos distritos de Bragança, Castelo Branco, Guarda, Lisboa, Portalegre, Santarém e Setúbal

10 de maio de 2019