Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 15th March 2023
By Mike Evans
Good day to you all and as the weather warms up we must all start to think about the start of the fire season around the countryside and what we can all do to help alleviate the situation by making sure all the areas around your homes, if you live in the countryside are kept low so making it less likely that a fire could spread. Whilst the current situation is low risk this will inevitably rise as the weather warms up. We publish the details of fire risk on our Facebook page on a daily basis so if you don’t already look in on our page we do suggest you check out your area to see what the situation is like.
In addition we have a large amount of information on our website which details what to do in case of fires as well as how to make sure your land is cleaned.
Now for a look at some of the news from around the Algarve over the past couple of weeks with regards to Safety and security.
SEF Identifies 6 Victims of Human Trafficking
The Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) identified and applied a measure of support and protection to six foreigners who were identified as victims of human trafficking, in an operation carried out in the western Algarve, on Saturday, the 11th March.
The identification of these people as victims of the crime of trafficking in human beings was carried out following an inspection carried out by the SEF during the week in the westernmost area of the Algarve aimed at “confirming the address of some foreign citizens” in a residence , indicated the SEF in a statement.
“It was found that the six citizens were enticed from their country of origin with the promise of work in Portugal in agriculture, with the right to accommodation and subsequent legislation, by paying 13 thousand euros per person to an illegal immigration network ”.
The Foreigners and Borders Service pointed out that the information collected led to the conclusion that “these citizens had to resort to credits and help from family members to gather the necessary money” to pay the illegal network that was in charge of the trip to Portugal.
When SEF inspectors began the inspection to confirm the address, “they found that 24 foreign citizens, of Hindustani origin, were staying in the same house” and were alerted “to the vulnerable situation of a group of five citizens who shared a room there. ”, said the security service.
The same source added that the inspectors found that “five citizens have been in Portugal for four months, holding work visas”, and confirmed “the signs” that these men were being “victims of human trafficking”.
The group of five immigrants were transported to Faro, where technicians from the Association for Family Planning (APF), belonging to a Specialized Multidisciplinary Team, interviewed them and flagged them as victims”, being “guaranteed help and protection”.
Subsequently, and based on the testimonies of these people and with additional data obtained, the inspectors were able to arrive at the “location, on Friday, of a sixth citizen in the same conditions”, who was also “also flagged as a victim ” and supported with “appropriate humanitarian assistance”. It was subsequently discovered that these six immigrants, after arriving in Portugal, were “taken to the Algarve and housed in one room of the identified house”, through the “additional payment” of a value of “140 euros per month for a mattress”.
The alleged work “did not take place” and the immigrants were “forced to buy employment contracts and pay their own contributions”, as well as those “from the employer to Social Security, in order to meet the formal conditions for legalisation in Portugal ”, sustained the SEF.
When they were unable to respond to the demands made of them, “they were abandoned to their fate, living on the charity of the other tenants of the house”, he added.
“Citizens were, however, questioned as witnesses and all the information was reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and an investigation was opened for the crime of human trafficking”, according to the security service.
Illegal fishing gear seized to capture octopus in Ria Formosa
During a routine surveillance and inspection service, nature watchers from the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests ( ICNF ), on duty in the Ria Formosa Natural Park, detected this Thursday a 250-metre cable and 22 baited pots to capture octopus, indicated the Algarve Regional Directorate for Nature Conservation and Forests.
Since that fishing gear is prohibited in the Ria Formosa, the guards seized it and the captured octopuses were released in their natural habitat.
“As the owner of the fishing gear has not been identified, a report was issued against unknown persons”, says the ICNF Regional Directorate in a statement.
Two arrested for thefts in Olhão, Tavira and São Brás
A man and a woman were arrested on Tuesday, March 7, for robberies and thefts that took place in the municipalities of Olhão , Tavira and São Brás de Alportel , announced the National Republican Guard (GNR).
The arrest of the 20-year-old man and the 22-year-old woman took place in Olhão and was carried out by the Faro Territorial Command, through the Olhão Territorial Post, in collaboration with the Protection and Socorro Emergency Unit, after two robberies of elderly people and three residential burglaries.
In one of these robberies, one of the victims ended up suffering serious injuries and required hospital treatment.After the GNR military became aware of data characteristic of the suspects’ vehicle, they were able to locate and intercept the individuals, who when approached it was possible to confirm that they were in possession of several stolen items.
The suspects were detained and two mobile phones, a guitar, a stone sink and 70 euros in cash were seized.
The detainees were constituted defendants and will be present at the Judicial Court of Olhão for the application of coercive measures.
Woman arrested with more than 750 counterfeit goods
A 47-year-old woman was accused and more than 750 counterfeit items that were sold on social networks were seized in the Algarve region by the National Republican Guard (GNR), on Tuesday, March 7, announced the security force.
The “Online Store” operation seized 755 counterfeit articles of clothing, perfumery and jewellery as part of an investigation for crimes against industrial property of counterfeiting , imitation and illegal use of a brand, which had been going on for about a year.
The GNR complied with a house search warrant and two vehicle search warrants, and a mobile phone was also seized.The value of the seized articles exceeds 12,800 euros, and their release for consumption will have caused an approximate loss of more than 2,900 euros to the Portuguese State.
The details of the case were sent to the Judicial Court of Faro.
Man on the Run Robberies In The Algarve for 22 years finally apprehended by PJ
The Judiciary Police announced that they had arrested a 41-year-old man in Évora, who had been on the run for 22 years and suspected of committing crimes of aggravated theft and robberies of the elderly in isolated hills in the Alentejo and Algarve.
In a statement, the Judiciary Police (PJ) revealed that the suspect was detained through the Local Criminal Investigation Unit (ULIC) of Évora, for the practice of aggravated theft, three crimes of theft, one of which was attempted, and document forgery.
“The criminal acts took place in 2000, with the intervention of other suspects, most of them being sentenced by the Court of Évora to sentences between five and 16 years in prison”.
Four arrested and 106 bales of hashish seized off the Algarve coast
Four men were arrested and 106 bales of hashish were seized by the authorities during the night of Tuesday, March 7, in international waters off the Algarve coast, announced the National Maritime Authority.
This joint operation between the Portuguese Navy and the Portuguese Air Force resulted in the seizure of around 3710 kilos of drugs, the arrest of two Spanish and two Moroccan men and the seizure of a high-speed vessel that was suspected of drug trafficking activity.
The authorities monitored suspicious movements in several vessels and carried out the approach operation in international waters through two means: one from the Navy, operated by marines, and another vessel from the Maritime Police. The initial phase of this process involved the patrol and surveillance of a Portuguese Air Force maritime patrol aircraft that detected and followed the movements of the suspected vessel.
The vessel and the hashish were transferred to the port of Faro , along with the four individuals, who were handed over to the Judiciary Police.
Cyclist dies after hit-and-run in Boliqueime
A young 20-year-old cyclist died this Thursday, March 9, after being run over by a light passenger vehicle in Boliqueime , in the municipality of Loulé , according to the Faro District Relief Operations Command.
The driver of the vehicle ended up fleeing, but was quickly located and accused, in addition to being subject to an identity and residence term.
The alert for this accident, which took place on National Road 270, was given at 07:25.There were 12 operatives on site, supported by six vehicles, including an Emergency Medical Vehicle and Resuscitation from Hospital de Albufeira and members of the National Republican Guard.
Man rescued after falling into rocky area in Culatra
A 60-year-old man was rescued on Saturday, March 11, after an accidental fall on a rocky area next to the heliport on the island of Culatra , in Faro , announced the National Maritime Authority.
The alert was given at 19:40 by the Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center and elements of the Olhão Maritime Police Local Command, crew from the Olhão Lifeguard Station, lighthouse keepers were immediately sent to the scene. and an INEM aircraft.
The victim was located and rescued from the place, having been later assisted by elements of INEM. Once stabilised, she was transported by INEM aircraft to a hospital unit.
100th Iberian Lynx released into the wild
And to close this report a milestone in conservation of the Iberian Lynx, The 100th lynx born at the National Centre for the Reproduction of the Iberian Lynx (CNRLI), in Silves, was released in Serra Arana, in Andalusia (Spain), announced the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests ( ICNF ) .
“This Friday, March 3, World Wildlife Day, marks the release into nature in Sierra Arana, Andalusia, of the 100th lynx born at the CNRLI […], since the opening of this centre”, says one ICNF statement.
According to the note, the 100 specimens bred at the CNRLI were “introduced into the wild in different places on the Iberian Peninsula”. The CNRLI, which was inaugurated on October 26, 2009, is part of the Iberian network of breeding centres that constitute the ‘ex situ’ (outside the natural habitat) Conservation Program for the Iberian lynx, with 154 lynxes having already been born at this institute .
The “Iberian lynx population census of the Guadiana Valley” for the year 2022, in Portugal, confirmed the existence of more than 30 breeding females in the reconstituted Iberian lynx population from 2015, installed in the Guadiana Valley and, since 2019, also in the eastern Algarve.
The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) was considered “the most endangered feline species in the world, and is still one of the most endangered”, but, according to the ICNF, “it is recovering with the help of conservation efforts for both sides of the border”.
According to the statement, in Portugal, this species reached a “pre-extinction phase” at the beginning of the 21st century, with the last traces of a lynx in the national territory being detected in 2001, in a border zone, probably from a “lynx dispersant” of populations in Spain.
“Currently, the 31 breeding females confirmed in the national territory ensure the sustainability of this population in Portugal, so that to keep growing it no longer depends on the annual release of several specimens born in captivity”, assures the ICNF.