Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 15th March 2023
Good morning – As anyone in business will know, understanding risk and mitigating risk is essential for the economic livelihood of the business. The same goes in understanding the risk of the occurrence and impact of natural disasters, such as rural fires and earthquakes for example – except the stakes are much higher, i.e. the risk of damage to your home, personal injury to you and your family and even worse!
At Safe Communities we spend considerable time identifying risks that can result in rural fires. Last year for instance just prior to the Gambelas fire in Faro, the weather conditions were extreme in the Algarve with the Fire Hazard (FWI) indicating critical levels above that of the fires of 2017, a point we made on our Facebook posts two days beforehand!
If more people had understood the risk would your activities and actions to prepare for possible fires have changed? Would you have done anything different on those days in reducing the risk of a fire reaching your home – last minute land cleaning, checking the gutters, moving the wood store further away from the house for instance, or oblivious to the risk have spent the time with a round of golf instead? It is a sobering thought!
Over the next few months I can assure you that risk awareness and risk communication will become one of the most common terms regarding preparedness for rural fires. We will try to explain risk in an understandable way and count on your support in getting such key messages across. It is essential that such information is shared, people are prepared and adopt self-protection measures.
Risk does not only concern rural fires, but earthquakes and tsunamis and other disasters that may occur. As we have said before we cannot prevent catastrophes, such as earthquakes but we can reduce the effects, because we knew the risks and took the appropriation action beforehand and during the event itself.
A few days ago the GNR Gouveia, identified a 43-year-old man for the crime of forest fire, in the municipality of Seia.
Following a report the GNR went to the scene, having found out that the fire originated from an unauthorized burn, where the suspect, when trying to clear the area of bushes, did not adapt the necessary security measures, resulting in the fire burning an area of undergrowth and pine forest of approximately 0.08 ha, putting the surrounding forest area at risk. This case has been referred to the courts.
This again illustrates the importance of registering the fire in the case of the burning of cut and piled waste or as in this case seeking authorisation to undertake and extensive burn. Even one registered/authorised it is important to follow the safety precautions. If you do not then you can expect to be prosecuted.
A reminder that the cleaning of land to 50 metres surround your property (the main building) not the perimeter, for those living in rural areas need to be completed by 30th April 2023. If you have neighbouring land that is overgrown within 50 metres of your property then this needs to be cleaned by the owner of that land. If the neighbour cannot be located, or refuses to clean then this should be reported.
Our team at Safe Communities wishes you a safe week ahead.
News
Illegal unloading of livestock effluent by livestock farmers
The GNR, through the Leiria Territorial Command, detected an illegal discharging of effluent by livestock farmers, on March 9, in the town of Ortigosa, Leiria municipality
Through a report, SEPNA elements detected a discharge of livestock effluent into the soil without any sort of treatment, coming from a livestock farm, using a submersible pump,
Due to the prompt intervention of the GNR, the effluent discharged did not reach the adjacent water lines, since, upon arrival at the site, the infraction was ceased after the power supply to the submersible pump had been disconnected.
This action resulted in the identification of livestock exploitation. A contra-ordination process was opened and the case handed over to the Portuguese Environment Agency, punishable with a fine of up to 144 thousand euros.
The Republican National Guard, through the Nature and Environmental Protection Service (SEPNA), has environmental and animal protection as a daily concern. To this end, the SOS Environment and Territorial Line (808 200 520) can be used permanently for reporting violations or clearing up questions.
Crackdown on criminal network that produced and distributed methamphetamine in Europe
With the support of Eurojust and Europol, judicial and law enforcement authorities in the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have taken down an organised crime group (OCG) responsible for the production and distribution of at least 4.7 tonnes of methamphetamine in Europe. During a joint action, 16 suspects were arrested and over 3.3 million tablets containing raw material for the production of the drug were seized.
According to the investigation, the perpetrators used a Romanian company to purchase the precursors (raw materials) and incorporate them into two pharmaceutical products, 50 and 120 milligram tablets of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. They used a formula that allowed them to quickly extract these precursors afterwards for the production of methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories. One of the suspects was partner and director of this company.
The tablets produced in Romania were shipped to companies in several European countries that purchased them without having a marketing authorisation in those countries. The tablets did not reach their declared destination, but were sent to various locations in Poland. From there, the shipments were split into smaller quantities and delivered to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where they were distributed to clandestine laboratories.
Using the ‘Czech method’ of producing methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories, approximately 0.70 kg of methamphetamine was obtained from one kilogram of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.
Between January 2021 and February 2023, the members of the criminal group allegedly organised the transport and delivery of 168,788,870 tablets containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (approximately 6.7 tonnes of ephedrine hydrochloride), from which a total quantity of at least 4.7 tonnes of methamphetamine could be produced.
COMMENT
The number of people using methamphetamine in Europe is considerable and one hopes that this will have some impact. Excellent work and collaboration by all the security forces involved.