A trio who was involved in the theft of tobacco machines were apprehended up by the GNR, one of the detainees being sent to the Caldas da Rainha Prison as a subject of an arrest warrant.

The operation of the GNR, triggered by the Criminal Investigation Nucleus of the Territorial Detachment of Torres Vedras, culminated on December 4 with the arrest of two men and a woman, aged between 25 and 59 years, for theft of in the districts of Lisbon and Santarém.

The investigation took place about six months ago and aimed at the commission of crimes of qualified theft, in which the group acted in an organized way pre-selectiing commercial establishments, proceeding to break in the doors, taking the tobacco machines and other articles and equipment. Subsequently the individuals dismantled the machines and sold their pieces, distributing the tobacco to several private vendors in the district of Lisbon.

This group operated in the municipalities of Torres Vedras, Lourinhã and Cadava. The police operation was carried out in the cities of Torres Vedras, Alenquer and Santarém, with 14 searches conducted, of which 12 were domiciliary and two in vehicles, resulting in the seizure of 84 packets of tobacco, seven firearms, an extendable baton, an automatic flick knife (tip-and-spring type), nine televisions (LCD, plasmas), 12 gas cylinders, three tablets and a laptop, two game consoles, a moped, 19 mobile phones, a camera and a Bluetooth speaker, various household appliances and power tools used in the practice of theft, various articles and parts of machines dismantled, and 1810 euros.

The group is also suspected of stealing religious articles in cemeteries, seizing dozens of religious figures and ornamentation.

This operation involved 80 soldiers from the various branches of the GNR and was supported by the PSP