Month: July 2020

The president of the National Health Council, Henrique Barros, says that more trips during the vacation period increase the risk of transmission of Covid-19, but it is not necessary for that to happen. For that he speaks of a triangle of forces that will help to contain possible outbreaks.

Henrique Barros, says that vacations do not have to be a period of increase in cases of Covid-19 in Portugal. It recognizes that there is a risk of this happening, but there are ways to avoid it if the necessary precautions are taken.

Henrique Barros, who is also responsible for the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto, begins by recognizing that if there is a movement of people “there are likely to be more cases”. But immediately afterwards he emphasizes that this is not a story that necessarily has to have this ending. “It is not inevitable that vacations bring an increase in cases,” he says in an interview with Renascenca news.

The protective shield for the hypothetical growth of cases at the time of July and August, in which the Portuguese traditionally take their holidays, is for this epidemiologist composed of a triangle: people are at one of the corners and “each one of us taking on the duty to protect yourself and others “, at the other end is” the set of rules and some behavioural surveillance “, and at the third” we must have a public health capable of intervening on each identified case “.

“There has to be a prompt response to identify these cases. There must be a concern that people understand that there is a set of protective measures for themselves and others. If these measures are respected, the increase in cases is very small”, underlines Henrique Barros.

The expert gives an image that can help you understand what you mean by the question of risk and inevitability. “On a hot day there is a greater risk of fire, but it does not necessarily have to happen. Covid and the holidays are the same,” he explains.

There is almost no “community transmission”

Despite the sustained increase in cases, especially in the region of Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, since the beginning of the lack of definition in the beginning of May, the president of the National Health Council believes that Portugal “has been doing a job of increasing verification of chains of transmission”, in such a way that “the number of cases for which it is impossible to find an epidemiological link is very small”.

“I dared to say that transmission in the community practically does not exist”, he concludes.

He argues that, at this moment, new cases are being identified “as aggregate cases”, that is, “case boxes”. But these, he assures, “have been able to be circumscribed”. However, to say that an outbreak has ended and a chain has stopped, this “requires waiting 28 days, at least 14 days for the last case”.

This would be the time from now, with no other factors such as the arrival of people from abroad, it would lead the country to considerably reduce the number of cases.

Henrique Barros also defends that Portugal has been able to stop the growth of the disease, because there are “very few cases that we have not been able to identify the origin”.

The same expert defends this thesis with a number. “If there were transmission in the community, the increase would be much faster. In Portugal, if today we have 100 cases at the speed at which we are transmitting, it would take 80 days before they become 200 cases. This is what we call case doubling time. When the infection is active, this duplication takes place in half a dozen days ”, he concludes.

The collision with electric lines was the cause of the helicopter accident that fought a fire in Sobrado, Valongo, Porto district, on September 5, 2019, causing the death of the pilot, Noel Ferreira, concluded the investigation.

The final report of the Office for the Prevention and Investigation of Aircraft Accidents and Railway Accidents (GPIAAF), to which the Lusa agency had access today, explains that, when approaching for the second water start, “when crossing an obstacle constituted by high voltage lines ”, the AS350-B2 bucket and tail rotor touched the cables, leading to loss of control of the device.

“The loss of control of the aircraft was inevitable and a consequent fall in rotation, covering a total distance of 84 meters until it immobilized on its left side, six seconds after the impact with the cables. After the collision with the ground, an intense fire immediately broke out and consumed the aircraft in its entirety. The pilot and sole occupant of the aircraft was fatally injured, ”says GPIAAF.

Noel Ferreira, 36, was also a pilot of the Portuguese Air Force at Squadron 751, based in Montijo, which operates the EH-101 helicopter in search and rescue missions, and also commander of Cete’s Voluntary Firefighters, in Paredes, district of Porto, which, “at the time of the accident, was among others, fighting the fire on the ground”.

The Eurocopter took off at 15:10 from a private Afocelca base (Navigator group) in Valongo, Porto district, with a team of five firefighters and the fire-fighting equipment consisting of a basket and bucket. After dropping the intervention team on the ground, and the bucket having been positioned, the pilot flew to a nearby water point for the first supply and discharge in the fire.

The cycle repeated, in the second approach to the fire and in coordination with another aerial medium that operated on the spot, “the pilot, aware of the existence and location” of the electric lines, “defines the trajectory for the second start”.

“After crossing a very duly signaled first line of very high voltage, composed of 14 conductors, the aircraft and the suspended bucket collided with a second line. This second line, composed of 8 conductors, was positioned at a lower level and about 45 meters from the first horizontal distance, ”says the report.

The lines on which the helicopter crashed were not signposted, but the investigation notes that, “in view of the current regulations, such signage is not a requirement, since they were in the area of ​​influence of another higher signposted line”.

After the collision, without a tail rotor or vertical stabilizer, the device “started an uncontrolled flight until it collided with the terrain”.

“The pilot’s body was found 5 meters to the right of the cockpit seat, (…), a situation that could not have resulted from the fall or the explosion, thus evidencing its autonomous movement after the fall”, concluded the researchers.

According to the report, the pilot recorded 180 hours of total flight time experience on the AS350-B2 model, mostly in firefighting operations, in which he participated since 2018.

In terms of risk assessment, GPIAAF underlines that, in view of the physical scenario and the verified conditions, “it cannot be excluded that another additional factor contributed to the accident, namely that the pilot felt one or more of the types of pressure characterized in a ICAO circular – International Air Transport Organization: mental pressure resulting from the operation, motivational pressure and peer pressure ”.

“As the pilot was fighting a fire by air when on the ground was a corporation of volunteer firefighters, in which, in addition to sharing the spirit of mission and a companionship relationship, there was also a hierarchical connection where the pilot was the commander of this corporation, it cannot be excluded that there could be, to a certain degree, a propensity to devalue or relativize the risks, in search of the best success in the rapid fire domain ”, points out the report.

However, according to the researchers, “the mental attitude with a focus on flight conditions is decisive in the necessary and constant risk assessments required of a pilot with the numerous threats presented in the experienced scenario, especially in flight situations where there are no concrete rules and strict performance, as is the case with these operations with airlines ”.

Person arrested for alleged homicide in Olhão

The Judiciary Police (PJ) stated on Wednesday that the 53-year-old woman murdered in Olhão, allegedly by her partner, will have suffered “serious chest injuries caused by assault using a bladed weapon”.

In a statement, the PJ indicated that the victim’s companion, 82, was arrested for “strong evidence of the practice of the crime of qualified homicide”, having a “history of domestic violence”.

The suspect will be present for judicial interrogation to apply coercion measures.

The crime, according to the PJ, occurred on Wednesday inside the house where the couple lived with their two youngest children, aged 15 and 05 years old (police source had previously said that the youngest son was 4 years old).

None of the children were present at the time, but it was the eldest son who found the woman’s body.

After the crime, the suspect left the scene, appearing before the police authorities after about eight hours later.

In the set of actions carried out by the PJ, “relevant evidence elements were collected” that made it possible to carry out the “arrest of the alleged author”.

A source from the Public Security Police (PSP) revealed on Wednesday that the 82-year-old man went “voluntarily to the PSP police station in Olhão around 11:30 pm”, after having been missing for several hours.

 

SEF operation in Santarém – three detainees and 140 people identified as victims of illegal immigration

The Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) on 6^th July complied with three arrest warrants for suspected crimes of human trafficking and aiding illegal immigration in the Santarém area. In addition to the arrests, 40 search and seizure warrants were carried out.

In the “Lezíria” operation, around 140 foreign workers mainly of Indian origin were identified, of whom about 20 were already identified as victims of the crime of trafficking in persons. These citizens were mostly subjected to degrading conditions of work, accommodation and health.

This SEF operation had as main objective the dismantling of a network of human trafficking and related crimes, with the introduction of foreign workers, some of them in an irregular situation, on agricultural holdings in Ribatejo. During the searches several computers were seized, several documentary evidence of the practice of the identified crimes and a large amount of money.

This is an investigation delegated to SEF by the Santarém Public Prosecutor’s Office and which took place over a year.

The detainees will be presented to the court for the application of the respective enforcement measures.

This operation took place with the presence of members from the Specialized Multidisciplinary Teams to Assist Victims of Human Trafficking, in order to guarantee the appropriate treatment of the situations detected there and had the support of several partners in logistical terms.

In total, 120 SEF operators participated in the operation.

 

A 36-year-old man abuses a nine-year-old girl

The Judiciary Police arrested the 36-year-old man in Aveiro, after suspected sexual abuse of a nine-year-old child.

The victim, a nine-year-old girl, is the daughter of a friend who welcomed the suspect into her home. The suspect has no official residence or professional occupation, according to an official statement issued by the Judiciary Police.

“The suspect has no professional occupation, nor official residence, the victim being the daughter of a friend, who gave him shelter. It was in this context of proximity that several significant sexual acts took place”, stated in an official statement released by the PSP

According to the PSP, the criminal acts occurred in one of Aveiro’s urban parishes.

 

PSP operation “2 or 4 wheels on the road, there is room for everyone”

The Public Security Police (PSP), between 7 and 13 July, are increasing the inspection of motor cyclists, as well as the behaviour of other road users that jeopardize the safety of motorcyclists themselves.

This operation is focusing on:

• Dangerous driving in the context of racing, skill displays and vehicle stunts on public roads;
• Correct use of the protective helmet;
• Compliance with traffic lights;
• Correction of procedures prior to the overtaking manoeuvre;
• Correct change of the traffic lane and adequate signalling of manoeuvres;
• Compliance with speed limits and priority rules and,
• Detection of those drink driving.

The PSP intends, primarily, to contribute decisively so that the gradual increase in the road flow does not imply an increase in the accident rate and, on the other hand, to reinforce with the drivers the need to drive cautiously.

In the same statement, PSP reports that between January 1 and June 15, 2020, there were:

• 13, 656 car accidents with damage (a drop of 31% compared to 2019, with 19,710 accidents) and
• 4,727 traffic accidents with victims (a 35% drop compared to 2019, with 7,259 accidents), resulting in 36 fatalities (a 41% decrease compared to 2019, with 61 victims), and
• 5,559 injured, 247 of whom were in serious condition (an overall variation of 38% compared to 2019, in which 8924 were injured, of which 342 were in serious condition).

From this national data, it is important to highlight that the accident rate with two-wheel motor vehicles represents, between January 1 and June 15, 2020, 35% of the accident rate with victims (1617 occurrences), resulting in 8 deaths and 1745 injuries, of which 76 in serious condition.

In the same time frame in 2019, the accident rate with two-wheel vehicles represented 31% of the overall accident rate with victims (2299 accidents), resulting in 11 fatalities and 2539 injuries, 105 of which were in serious condition.

 

Mother takes the life of his own son 17 years who suffered from autism.

A 17-year-old boy, who suffered from autism, was found lifeless inside a well in the Cabanelas area of Mirandela, in the district of Bragança.

The young man’s mother reportedly alerted the authorities to her son’s disappearance, indicating that the young man could possibly be inside a well, a source from GNR and Civil Protection said.

According to the same source, the young man’s mother ended up confessing to the perpetration of the crime, which led to the case being conducted by the Judiciary Police to investigate the circumstances in which the 17-year-old’s death occurred.

The alert was given at around 4:45 pm and several firefighters and GNR operatives were mobilized to the site, who found the young man’s body shortly after they emptied the well.

 

PSP mega operation in inspecting 2500 people in illegal races

More than 2500 people were inspected in an operation on Monday night, during PSP action against illegal races in the Industrial Zone of Barosa, in Leiria. Three people were arrested, and 42 cars were apprehended, according to Jornal de Notícias.

The mega-operation culminated in the inspection of “about 1,200 vehicles, and more than 2,500 citizens, in the execution with 3 arrests for lack of legal authorization to drive, 42 vehicles apprehended due to changes in characteristics, 22 cars for other infractions related to the Highway Code and consumption of drugs”, explains the PSP.

 

Braga GNR identifies 7 women and 12 clients at illicit house

The Territorial Command of Braga, through the Criminal Investigation Center (NIC) of Fafe, on July 2, identified two men, 35 and 65 years old, that were arrested for pimping and possession of prohibited weapons, in Cabeceiras de Basto.

The action was carried out following an investigation, initiated in November last year, relating to the crime of pimping, with the NIC military carrying out three search warrants, two in homes and one in a commercial establishment.

In the commercial establishment, seven women were identified, between the ages of 30 and 45, 12 clients, aged between 18 and 65, and 1260 euros and 120 condoms were seized.

Two house searches were also carried out, at the residences of the owner of the establishment and tenants of the space, in Chaves and Felgueiras, and the following material was apprehended:

• A weapon converted into a 6.35mm calibre
• 11 rounds of ammunition;
• An aerosol pepper spray cannister

The suspects were accused of the crimes of pimping and possession of prohibited weapons and the facts presented to the Judicial Court of Cabeceiras de Basto.

The Prime Minister said today that, for now, the situation of calamity should remain in 19 parishes in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and that there is no reason to raise the level of alert in general for the country.

This position was transmitted by António Costa at the end of a two-hour meeting with the Mayor of Sintra, Basílio Horta, in which the executive leader was accompanied by the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, and by the Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Duarte Cordeiro, who is also the Government coordinator for the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region to combat the covid-19.

“I do not anticipate that the classification status of the different parts of the country will change in the next fortnight. The good news is that for now nothing indicates that we have to raise the level of alert that prevails in most of the country,” he said.

Regarding the Lisbon Metropolitan Area as a whole, the Prime Minister admitted the possibility of “some evolution”.

“We will see, but there is still more than a week” to make the decision, he said.

Regarding 19 parishes in the municipalities of Sintra, Amadora, Lisbon, Loures and Odivelas, which are in a state of calamity, António Costa said the following: “For the moment, I do not anticipate that there are conditions to move forward in order to reduce the degree classification of the state of exception “.

Before the journalists, the Prime Minister referred that, after today’s meetings in Sintra and Amadora, he will also have identical meetings with the mayors, health authorities and local security authorities of the municipalities of Odivelas, Loures and Lisbon – the other three counties most affected by the covid-19 pandemic.

“I try to make a local assessment with people who are on the ground, in order to determine how everything is working and how the response has been. Only an integrated response ensures effectiveness in combating the covid-19 pandemic”, he defended.

António Costa considered that it is still too early to draw conclusions about the results of the measures adopted in relation to the areas most affected by the covid-19, “because only one week of application has passed”.

“The numbers indicate that there is a tendency for stabilization and no longer for growth. But it is still early and we should not disarm”, he stressed.

In the case of Sintra, the Prime Minister highlighted measures taken to reinforce the intervention capacity of the security forces and to speed up the speed of testing in order to detect positive cases.

“This is essential to ensure containment. Although the outbreaks are located, they still have a major impact on the overall life of the entire country,” he added.

On the part of the Sintra Chamber, in addition to Basílio Horta, the meeting with the members of the Government and with António Costa, the councilors Eduardo Quinta-Nova and Domingos Quinta, Fernanda Lopes for Social Security, the public health delegate Noémia Gonçalves, the subintendent from PSP António Santos and João Sanches by GNR.

The so-called “covid parties”, organized by young people, continue to be a concern for the authorities. The President of the Council of Portuguese Medical Schools warns of the consequences of this disease, also in the youngest and stresses the need to adopt defensive behaviours.

There is still a lot to know about the new coronavirus, so there are few precautions: social distance, wearing a mask and hand hygiene are essential to prevent contagion. Simple gestures, which, however, are not being carried out by many young people who these days gather at parties, which “is completely wrong and irresponsible”, says Professor Fausto Pinto to Renascença news.

The director of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon explains that these parties bring “consequences, not only for the people involved, but also for family members and other people with whom they come in contact, in addition to starting new epidemiological chains”.

Group immunity is only possible with a vaccine

This expert says that the argument for seeking group immunity, used by many young people to promote parties, is meaningless.

“It is clear today that it is not possible to have, naturally, group immunity through the infection of people.” According to Fausto Pinto, this “can only be reached if there is a vaccine”.

The fact that you are young, have no risk factors, and develop the disease even if only slightly, the infected person can maintain the symptoms for five or six weeks. The lack of knowledge is still so much as “it is not known why there are people who develop the most severe forms of the disease and others do not”.

The specialist warns of the consequences: tiredness and breathing problems. “In terms of recovery, there were people who lost a lot of weight and lost their muscle capacity.”

“It is a disease that is not to be caught”

It is “necessary to adopt very defensive behaviours in relation to the virus” about which there is still much to know. For Fausto Pinto “this is a disease that is not to be caught, this is not a disease that we want to be infected to solve the problem and be immunized”.

For this reason, he highlights the “a little careless way in which some types of demonstrations were authorized, shows with thousands of people, this gives the population an image of some lightness, of an exaggerated optimism”.

 

 

 

 

 

The President of the Republic said this Monday, in the Algarve, that it is necessary to “look ahead and fight” for tourism in the region to overcome the losses caused by the exclusion of Portugal from the air corridor with the United Kingdom.

“It is evident that everything is important, now we have to look ahead and we have to fight, first, for tourism that comes from other interesting and important origins, that may come and that will define positions in the coming days. And then the British Government itself said it would rethink in July, let’s see what can be done about this matter”, said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The head of state spoke to journalists in Monte Gordo, Vila Real de Santo António, before a dinner with the mayors of the Algarve, and representatives of the Tourism Region and tourism business associations.

“[It is necessary] to pull through the Algarve fast, so that we can produce effects later this year” in tourism, defended Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who wanted to hear the mayors and tourism representatives to try to help the Algarve to overcome the difficulties caused by the covid pandemic -19 and the UK’s decision to force the British to quarantine 14 days on arrival from Portugal.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also went as far as possible to help tourism in the Algarve to carry out “campaigns for Portuguese tourism” and announced his return to the region.

“I have been to Albufeira the other day now, I am here in Monte Gordo, I will be now over the course of several weeks, during the summer, running the Algarve whenever I have time to come and go back,” he declared

The presence of the head of state in the Algarve, including holidays, in the second half of August, also allows “to push for Portuguese tourism and for more foreign tourism”, because “it is fair and there is no reason for the Algarve, because of the covid-19, to be harmed , considered Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

“Now we have to look to the future and see how we can get around the text. The Algarve deserves it, it has exceptional quality, it has a public health situation that is, even compared to other regions and countries, of quality, now it needs to be clear in the spirit of the Portuguese, on the one hand, and foreigners who have to come here and we have to recover ”, he added.

The meeting was an initiative of the President of the Republic and brought together the 15 of the 16 mayors of the district of Faro (Rosa Palma, president of the municipality of Silves, who was hit today by a fire, was not present).

The president of the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve, António Miguel Pina, said that the dinner with the head of state intends to sensitize the authorities to “the reinforcement of diplomatic capacity and intensity with the English issue”, but “also with Ireland, who announced that until the 9th, it will present a list and it is necessary that the Algarve be considered a safe destination”.

For António Manuel Pina, it is also necessary to “intensify what the funds are to do more promotion of the destination and try to compensate the tourists who are lost from the United Kingdom with others from other parts of Europe”, such as Germany, France or Belgium, he exemplified.

 

Liverpool drug lords operated a ‘click and collect’ service for cocaine and heroin, Mersyside police say

Criminal gangs have been dressing young drug mules as nurses and Deliveroo workers to deliver cocaine, heroin and illegally acquired prescription drugs during lockdown, according to a senior officer in charge of tackling county dealing at one of the UK’s biggest police forces.

Supt Andy O’Connor of Merseyside police said Liverpool drug lords forced to return home during lockdown were operating a “click and collect” service for couriers disguised as key workers to travel in and out of the region with drugs.

He said the looming recession coupled with high unemployment could make it easier for criminal groups to recruit vulnerable people and their families as lockdown is eased.

He said: “The majority of our crime groups had to come back into force, to come back to the Liverpool and Merseyside area. What you still had in the importing forces was the demand for class A drugs. In a way, what we saw was a ‘click and collect’ service for drugs.

“What we had, anecdotally, was people leaving the area to deliver drugs. People were dressed as key workers, we’ve got evidence to show there were people stop-checked purporting to be nurses or Deliveroo drivers. Crime groups are clever and ingenious. They still want to deliver their commodity, there’s still a significant amount of money to make.

County lines dealers have traditionally put couriers on coaches and trains to deliver drugs and money to smaller towns and cities, but with public transport usage reduced during lockdown, the gangs had to change tack, said O’Connor. Some young people were caught by British Transport Police on trains but others were transported by car, sometimes driven by their relatives.

O’Connor said: “If you are a clever crime group you force a woman to drive a car. Put yourself in the shoes of a crime group leader of a drug gang: use vulnerable women to move your drugs and cash. They don’t look like your stereotypical drug dealer wearing dark clothing, North Face coats, hoods up, baseball caps on. That sticks out like a sore thumb. If you force the mothers, the sisters, the grandmothers to do the drug dealing on their behalf, where there’s debts to be paid off, it’s an easy way to move drugs around the country.”

Young and vulnerable people from Merseyside had been picked up during lockdown as far away as Aberdeen in Scotland and on England’s south coast, he said. Activity increased as lockdown progressed. O’Connor’s force safeguarded two young people in relation to county lines in April, 27 in May and 38 in June. Seventy-four people were arrested during operations over the three months.

Curtailed imports pushed the price of cocaine up from £30,000-£35,000 to £45,000-£50,000 a kilo, he said. Rather than increasing the price at street level, dealers cut the drugs or switched to selling prescription drugs acquired illegally.

“We have seen a significant reduction in the quality and purity,” O’Connor said. “In certain locations outside of Merseyside we know because of lockdown they have been unable to get hold of class A and class B drugs, so some users have been resorting to prescription drugs.”

There are 97 active county lines operating from Merseyside, police figures show. After London, Merseyside’s drug gangs are the second biggest exploiters of young people, grooming children as young as 10, according to the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership.

It has launched a public information campaign warning people of the signs of criminal exploitation, how children are groomed by older dealers who buy them targeted gifts of clothes, food and bikes, making them feel indebted and part of the gang or “family”.

O’Connor said: “The people need to realise these people are grooming people the same way sex offenders are. They worm their way into people’s lives. ‘I’ll do you a favour,’ that sort of thing. Vulnerable people are being threatened with significant harm, either to themselves or family members. They will threaten to sexually assault family members.”

Once groomed, the children are sent away to other parts of the UK to sell their drugs, often hundreds of miles from home.

The likely recession could put more people at risk of county lines gangs, said O’Connor. “That’s why what we are doing with Eyes Open isn’t just trying to arrest the drug dealers, it’s helping the people who are being threatened, who are being forced to do this, to put these preventative measures in place. We want to give people different pathways and opportunities to help themselves.” Reported by Guardian”

 

 

 

The President of the Republic said this Friday that the Portuguese have already supported the United Kingdom in difficult times when commenting on the British Government’s decision to exclude Portugal from the list of countries considered safe in relation to the covid-19 pandemic.

The United Kingdom, is our oldest ally, our relationship goes back many centuries and there is one thing that everyone knows: that in people’s lives, as in countries, sometimes they are at the top, sometimes they are in and when you’re on the bottom you need others. When you’re on top – or when you think you’re on top – sometimes you forget others” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

“There is always an occasion – it is a problem to wait – when we need the help of those who, at a certain moment, thought that they would be, forever, down,” added the President of the Republic before attending the premiere of a play theater in Almada , in the district of Setúbal.

The President of the Republic commented on the exclusion of Portugal from the list of 59 countries and territories considered safe by the British Government , which means that passengers from Portugal will have to comply with the 14 quarantine days imposed by the Boris Johnson executive due to the covid pandemic. -19.

“In Portugal we have very different situations in terms of the pandemic – that is why there is a state of calamity, a state of contingency and a state of alert – that should not be treated in the same way, because they are different. And these realities different, from our point of view, means that whoever looks at Portugal from outside has to look at different realities “, defended Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The head of state added that “the Algarve has numbers that, compared to some numbers from foreign countries – not to be identifying one in particular -, are flattering for the Algarve “.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also noted that Portugal did not establish any limitation or quarantine for those coming, or coming, from the United Kingdom, regardless of the numbers of the pandemic in the United Kingdom, being better or worse than the Portuguese numbers .

Asked about a possible change in the restrictions imposed by the British Government, the President of the Republic said that this is a “lesson in history”.

“I just say that this is a lesson in history. Our history has shown how sometimes the UK supported us when we were down, other times we supported the UK, even in complicated situations worldwide, when it was necessary to support. So there is no end to the story, there is no end to the story “, concluded Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa .

 

Covid-19: Tax authorities seize 550 boxes of anti-flu medicine banned in Portugal

On 2^nd July, the Tax and Customs Authority (AT) seized, through the Customs of Leixões, 550 boxes of anti-flu drugs (allegedly used as drugs for covid-19), the marketing of which is not authorised on the Portuguese market.

The drugs, according to a statement released by AT, were camouflaged in boxes presented as containing LED lamps, with origin declared as Hong Kong.

According to the same information, these are “anti-flu drugs marketed in the Chinese market, allegedly used as drugs for covid-19” and which, according to AT, “have repeatedly been the subject of illegal import attempts by other means, namely by post ”.

This inspection operation was carried out under the auspices of the World Customs Organization, having been carried out by the Customs of Leixões based on the risk analysis developed by AT.

The 550 seized medicine boxes contained 19,800 individual doses.

PSP detains 11 suspected drug traffickers in Portalegre

Eleven people, seven men and four women, were arrested by the PSP for crimes of drug trafficking and possession of prohibited weapons in the municipality of Portalegre, and the agents seized MDMA, ecstasy, hashish and liamba.

The operation on the 28^th June, that fell within the scope of the investigation of drug trafficking crimes, commenced at 07:00 hrs in the morning and its results were announced during the morning by the District Command of Portalegre of the Public Security Police (PSP), in a statement.

After the operation was completed, the source of the district command of the PSP revealed to Lusa, in the late afternoon that the 11 people were detained, aged between 20 and 55 years.

The same source stated that “The individuals, all of whom live in the municipality of Portalegre, were arrested for crimes of drug trafficking and possession of prohibited weapons and were presented to the judicial authority on Tuesday 30th at 9.30 am.”

This police operation also “identified seven other individuals, of similar ages” to those of the detained, “and these were notified to appear before the Commission for the Deterrence of Drug Addiction in Portalegre, for being involved in drug use”, he added.

The operation, which is the result of “an investigation into drug trafficking that has been underway at the Criminal Investigation Squadron of the Comando de Portalegre since the end of last year”, involved “21 house searches and six vehicles,” reported by the same source.

“We have MDMA, ecstasy, hash and liamba”, as well as “a converted pistol”, that is, “a prohibited class A weapon”, and “ammunition of various calibres and some prohibited weapons, such as a brass knuckles and a butterfly knife”.

A light passenger vehicle, three motorcycles, several mobile phones, computers and scales and “other objects related to the narcotics trafficking activity” are also included in the seizure.

The operation mobilised “more than 60 policemen, assigned to the Criminal Investigation and Public Order of the Portalegre Command, with the reinforcement of the Special Police Unit and the District Commands of Évora, Santarém, Castelo Branco and Guarda, as well as kinotechnical binomials for the detection of narcotics,” summarized the PSP source.

Missing woman found by the PSP in a deserted location

A 63-year-old woman was rescued in a remote location in the Serra da Carregueira, Sintra

The 63-year-old woman, who had been missing, was rescued in a remote location in the Serra da Carregueira, Sintra, where she was found disoriented, unable to move, dehydrated and suffering from hypothermia.

According to the Public Security Police, the woman, resident of Telheiras, Lisbon, disappeared on June 21st.

On that day, the family members reported her disappearance after they realised that the woman was not in her room or answering her phone.

After several leads, the PSP were able to confirm that the victim was in the Serra da Carregueira area, in Sintra. Searches were initiated, along paths and in woods, in which the PSP policemen and the Firemen of the Corporación de Belas took part “, explains the PSP.

The woman was eventually located after 56 hours. She was in a deserted place, no longer able to move, disoriented, dehydrated and suffering from hypothermia.

The woman was transported to Hospital Fernando da Fonseca, in Amadora.

Fewer reported domestic violence crimes and homicides in the first quarter of 2020

Complaints of domestic violence to police authorities fell by almost 10% in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2019, and femicides fell by 60% in the same period, according to official data released on the 25^th June.

According to official statistics released by the Office of the Minister of State and the Presidency, the Public Security Police (PSP) and the National Republican Guard (GNR) received 6,347 domestic violence reports in the first three months of the year, down 9.1% than the 6,980 participations in the same period of 2019.

The number of homicides in the context of domestic violence also decreased significantly in the period under analysis, with the homicide of women having the greatest percentage drop in the comparison of the first quarter of 2020 against that of 2019, with a decrease of 60% (from 10 homicides to 4).

The quarter covered about 15 days of period of state of emergency due to the covid-19 pandemic, enacted in Portugal with effect from 19 March, and forcing the confinement, which led to the manifestation of fears of an escalation of crimes of domestic violence, something that data from the Government, police and organizations working in this area have not confirmed.

The numbers record five homicides in the first three months of the year, including in addition to the four women, the death of a man.

Regarding the total number of hospitalisations in the national support network for victims of domestic violence, there is no quarterly accounting of these data, this is only released biannually.

In regard to the number of aggressors imprisoned, there was an increase both in preventive detention (9.6% more, with 206 aggressors in prison), and in serving effective prison sentences (16.9% more, with 830 reclusive aggressors).

Coercion measures that enforce ‘a remova’l, recorded an increase of 29.5% (with 671 measures in force), with those involving electronic surveillance those registering the highest percentage increase, with a growth of 38.8% (with 526 measures in force).

From the point of view of the victims, there was an increase of 33.4% in the total of those requesting tele-assistance (the commonly called “panic button”), with an increase of 2,503 people covered in the first quarter of 2019 to 3,340 in the same period this year.

In regard to programs for domestic violence offenders, there was a decrease in the number of people covered in prison in 15.2% (from 33 to 28 people), but an increase in programs for aggressors in the community of 6.7% (from 1,273 to 1,358).

The total number of victims transported fell 28.1% (from 498 victims to 358). 26.4% fewer women (from 239 to 176) and 29.9% less children (from 241 to 169) were transported.

Coimbra PSP and Faculty of Psychology prevent police officers’ suicide when “leaving the force”

The District Command of the PSP of Coimbra, in partnership with the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Coimbra, today launched the Phasing-out Project, which prepares the police for the phase of “leaving work” and beginning retirement.

The objective is to carry out, in a accompanied manner, by psychology professionals, “the exit from the active life of the people who work in the force and who pass to the pre-retirement situation and who, due to the circumstances, are faced with a new reality” discloses the Coimbra Public Security Police.

The PSP recalls that “over the course of a few decades we have seen a progressive increase in the average life expectancy in the population, as well as in their functional capacity throughout the aging process”.

With this project, the Coimbra District Command recognizes that “it becomes essential for workers as they age to stimulate their mobility, independence and health”, stressing that it is “one of the most vehement recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) and recently “the same concern was expressed in the National Suicide Prevention Plan, by DGS and the Ministry of Health”.

Knowledge of the “measures that prepare for the transition between working life and retirement” is seen as fundamental by the PSP because “more than a change in the routine” of police officers in retirees or pre-retirees, “may constitute a psychosocial crisis and it is a concern of the National Directorate of PSP and the Command of Coimbra”.

The project, the Phasing-out Project, foresees to create a project for “planning for this period of life and it is fundamental for all citizens as continuity of planning for life, should be encouraged”.

Expectations regarding the exit of the asset, legal, institutional, financial and psychosocial framework, life cycle, professional identity and new projects are areas of intervention of the project. Topics such as health and self-care, building family and social relationships, as well as time management and quality of life are also addressed.

The project has the participation of the professors of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra, Margarida Pedroso Lima and Janes Santos Herdy, as well as the psychologists placed in the Coimbra’s Command of the PSP.

For the first session, policemen who are active and who were born in 1960, 1961 and 1962 were surveyed, and their participation is voluntary, confidential and anonymous.

An interesting overseas report:

Brazil – Internet banking fraud $ 30 million stolen

MP-RS (the Public Ministry of the State) discovered the scheme, but did not reveal which bank suffered the breach.

This is what an operation by the Public Ministry of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil revealed on the morning of Thursday, 25^th June. The so-called ‘Operation Criptoshow’ carried out 13 search and seizure warrants related to the case today in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.

The MP-RS did not reveal who the affected industry or the defrauded bank was, but it did reveal how the attack worked, which will certainly be bad news for the security area of some financial institution soon.

According to the MP-RS, criminals first logged into Internet Banking from an account of a company based in Cachoeirinha, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, and scheduled 11 wire transfers.

Then, by means of a “sophisticated technique” which the MP-RS does not give details of, they were able to make a transfer from the systems’ account of R $ 30 million to accounts created by fraudsters.

The money was then sent to six companies located in Porto Alegre, Cachoeirinha, São Paulo and Porto Velho, in Rondônia, on April 15th and 16th.

“It would be as if a corporate bank account had invaded another similar account to issue a debit order to the bank in favour of third parties”, describes the promoter Flávio Duarte, in what is the summary of a nightmare scene for any banking institution.

The investigations indicated that it is a criminal organization integrated by the master account holder of the Cachoeirinha company’s bank account, which commanded the transactions and, until recently, was part of the company that benefited with R $ 1 million in the scheme.

Recently, this company had a change in its corporate structure, adding a person with a standard of living ‘incompatible with the company’s operations’.

In parallel to the criminal investigation of the MP, the banking institution, which paid for the financial loss caused to its client, sought to determine the destination of the amounts subtracted.

In this context, he discovered that an exchange (broker that makes trading intermediation for the purchase and sale of virtual assets) was the recipient, on April 16, 2020, of R $ 11,080,000.00, intended for the acquisition of bitcoins, originating just of three of the five companies benefiting from electronic transfers.

On the previous day, another R $ 7,764,927.00, had already been transferred by two of the companies and returned in bitcoins, thus totalling R $ 18,844,927.00.

Prosecutor Flávio Duarte points out that it is difficult to locate the assets obtained from the crime that will be invested in crypto, since there is no institution in charge of carrying out or monitoring transactions.