On 20th November the Criminal Investigation Division, the PSP Lisbon Metropolitan Command, in the parish of Belém, Lisbon, arrested a 43-year-old man and two women aged 40 and 54 years suspected of pick pocketing a tourist, bringing the total detained so far to 305 in this year.
The arrest came when PSP police, who were watching the movements of suspected pickpockets, at the Doca do Bom Sucesso, Belém, noted that while the man and one of the women were posing as tourists, the second woman was behind watching.
After choosing the victim, they approached her and the man opened her shoulder bag, stealing her wallet. As they were seen by the agents, they could not escape, and were arrested. The wallet was seized with containing in the order of 164 euros which was returned to the tourist.
PSP confirmed that the two women were already indicted for this type of crime and have pending cases of wallet theft, while the man was first arrested for this type of crime.
The three suspects appeared at court for Summary Trial, and were given a Penalty.
The PSP will continue to make multiple efforts to combat this crime which has a detrimental effect on victims and the general population, especially in areas with a high concentration of tourists, notably in the city’s historic sites.
They aim to crackdown on this priority crime.