Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 7th June 2023
By Mike Evans
Good Day to you all and in the Algarve this week we have seen a lot of warm weather with the forecast of rain over the next few days. The temperatures are due to remain above the average for the time of year and the UV levels are expected to remain very high so make sure you and any guests you may have with you are well protected.
With the news this week that tourism in the region is now well on the way to equalling the summer of 2019 this means that the roads are beginning to get clogged up especially the N125. With the added factor of possibly very wet roads it is imperative we keep our distance and stick to the speed limits to make sure everyone is safe. We have seen a number of accidents in the last week with one yesterday on the A22 which saw three vehicles involved and four people were taken to hospital, luckily with minor injuries. The same cannot be said however for the motorcyclist who sadly lost his life in a crash near Olhao on Monday.
Here is a more detailed look at these stories and others from around the region in the past week.
Man Dies in Motorcycle Crash in Olhão
A man aged around 40 died this Monday in Olhão, following a collision with the motorcycle he was riding, said a Civil Protection source. A source from the Algarve Sub-regional Command also said that the accident resulted in a slight injury, a woman aged around 40.
The alert for the screening was given at around 7:50 pm and the death of the fatal victim, a man aged around 40, was declared on the spot by the doctor from the Medical Emergency and Resuscitation Vehicle (VMER). There were also firefighters from Olhão, Cruz Vermelha and São Brás de Alportel, a total of 17 elements, supported by seven vehicles.
The GNR took care of the occurrence.
Three Vehicle Collision Forces Closure of the A22
An accident involving three light vehicles on the A22 (Via do Infante), in the Alcantarilha area, caused four minor injuries on Tuesday 6 June and forced the road to be cut, in the Faro -Portimão direction, Civil Protection reported .
Rescue teams received the alert at around 8:27 am and were helping the injured, who were transported to the hospital, and removing vehicles from the road for more than two and a half hours, with circulation having been restored by 11:05 am, said a source. of the Algarve District Relief Operations Command (CDOS).
“It was an accident at kilometre 40, in the Alcantarilha (Silves) area, towards Faro-Portimão, with three light vehicles and which resulted in four injuries”, said the source, stressing that the victims were transported to the hospital with minor injuries. Providing assistance on site were around 30 operators, with 12 vehicles, including members of the GNR, Silves Firefighters and the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), according to Civil Protection.
Two Men Arrested for Robbery in Portimão
The Faro District Command of the PSP , through the Criminal Investigation Squadron of the Portimão Police Division, arrested two citizens, aged 21 and 31, for committing the crime of robbery, it was announced today.
“Following the news of a robbery carried out on one of the avenues of the city of Portimão, in the early hours of June 1, the Portimão Criminal Investigation Squadron immediately began investigative measures”, can be read in a statement.
“It was found that two men, through physical aggression and threat with a knife, took a wallet from a citizen, as well as tried to withdraw money from ATMs in the vicinity”, continues the note. After collecting the evidence, which included the collection of images obtained through the CCTV system, installed in the Praia da Rocha area, the two suspects were located “on Friday afternoon,, through a warrant issued by the Criminal Police Authority”, reveals the PSP.
The detainees were present for the first judicial interrogation on Saturday, the 3rd, being applied the coercive measure of periodic presentations at the PSP while awaiting trial.
Woman Seriously Injured by Hit and Run Driver on N125
A collision between two vehicles on National Road (EN) 125 followed by a person being run over, in Vila Nova de Cacela, in the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António , this Monday caused a serious injury, said a Civil Protection source.
A source from the Algarve Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command said that the victim of the hit-and-run is an 80-year-old woman, transported to the Basic Emergency Service in Vila Real de Santo António.
According to the same source, the EN 125 was closed to traffic in both directions on that section from 08:56. The accident also caused two other victims who at 09:40 were still being assisted and whose health status was not known.
Sixteen operational personnel went to the site, including elements from the Vila Real de Santo António Firefighters, the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) and the GNR, supported by six vehicles.
More than Half a Ton of Hashish Seized in Southern Portugal
The authorities seized on the 2nd June in the early morning, more than half a ton of hashish thrown into the sea by the crew, who fled, from two high-speed vessels in international waters, in the south of Portugal, announced the Portuguese Navy .
Under a joint operation between the National Maritime Authority, the Portuguese Navy and the Portuguese Air Force, suspicious movements of two vessels related to drug trafficking were monitored, which were detected and pursued, the Navy said in a statement.
“During the pursuit, the suspects on board the high-speed boats threw all the narcotic product into the sea, having collected 16 bales of hashish, corresponding to 560 kilos”, reads the note. The operation involved a Navy ship, nautical resources operated by Marines and resources from the National Maritime Authority, operated by the Maritime Police, and an aircraft from the Portuguese Air Force.
The drug was transported to the local command of the Faro Maritime Police and handed over to the Judiciary Police (PJ), in order to carry out the investigation steps.
2.4 tons of Illegally Transported Sardines Seized
The Coastal Control Unit (UCC) of the GNR seized on Thursday, in Portimão , 2.4 tonnes of sardines that were being illegally transported in a vehicle without having gone through the auction, the police corporation announced today.
The seizure was made by the Portimão Coastal Control Sub-detachment and the 2.4 kilos of sardines (sardina pilchardus) were then sold at auction, with the resulting value of the operation being placed “captive to the order of the process”, explained the GNR in a statement .
The security force stressed that the fish was located during an inspection carried out in the fishing port of the Algarve city, aimed at “controlling the rules for capturing, landing and marketing sardines”. During the inspection, the UCC military detected “an infraction for transporting fish outside the auction grounds, in violation of legal norms”, identified the driver of the transport vehicle, a 69-year-old man, and “drafted the respective report of administrative offence”, clarified the GNR.
“The Coastal Control Unit recalls that the capture of the sardine species must be carried out in order to guarantee, in the long term, the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the fishery, in accordance with the guidelines of the national and community entities that monitor the sector”.
Man Arrested who Tried to Steal a Car with Passenger Inside
The judicial authorities ordered the preventive detention of a man who tried to steal a car, threatening the passengers with a gun, in Paderne ( Albufeira ), as well as a house, in the area of Tunes ( Silves ), announced the Public Ministry.
The 71-year-old detainee was accused of two crimes of attempted theft, after failing to complete the theft of the car and its passengers, or the theft of the house, committed with another person and in which the owners were attacked, said the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the district of Faro in a statement.
The Faro district attorney’s office specified that, on “May 19, 2023, at around 3 pm, in a parking lot in the Paderne area, the detainee, armed with a pistol, got into the back seat of a car, where the driver was already there. and a passenger”, and threatened the occupants of the vehicle with a gun, ordering them to leave the scene.
“The driver started the vehicle and immediately sounded his horn to alert passers-by. Meanwhile, the passenger got out of the car. Immediately, under the threat of a pistol, the detainee forced the driver to also leave the vehicle and sat in the driver’s seat”, added the same source, stressing that the man was unaware of the vehicle’s automatic shift system and could not start. .
Unable to move forward with the car, and wielding the gun, he ended up getting out of the car and threatening the passenger who had left the vehicle to hand him her wallet, added the Public Ministry.
The man again tried to carry out a robbery on May 26, in an isolated house in Tunes, in the municipality of Silves, “accompanied by another person” and wearing a balaclava, said the Public Ministry.
The same source noted that the companion of the detainee “went inside the house, having butted the head of the owner who was at the street door” and, inside the residence, “the detainee demanded ‘the card and the money’”, a request that was refused by the owner, and the two got involved in a fight that resulted in the removal of the balaclava from the detainee’s head and the two men fleeing the scene.
“Beginning in 1985, the detainee served several prison sentences totaling more than 18 years and was now on parole”, highlighted the Faro Prosecutor’s Office, stressing that the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the application of the prison coercion measure and the request “was granted” by the investigating judge, after the first judicial questioning of the detainee.
Algarve Had The Highest Number of Child Victims of Crime and Violence in 2022
Faro is the district in Portugal with the highest prevalence of children and young people victims of crime and violence in 2022, with 674 cases, followed by Lisbon and Braga, revealed the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV).
The study “Children and Young People Victims of Crime and Violence – Statistics 2022” carried out by APAV, shows that Faro registered 674 cases of children and young people victims of crime and/or violence (26% of the total registered by APAV), Lisbon registered 392 cases (15.1%) and Braga 288 (11.1%).
The technical advisor to the APAV board, Carla Ferreira, said that one of the reasons is probably related to the fact that it is a region where there is seasonality and many people transit. The other possible reason may be related to the offer that APAV provides in the Algarve region. In the case of Faro “there are fewer support entities and, therefore, eventually more requests for help are channelled to our support services. But we’re also talking here about many situations, for example, seasonal, people who come here temporarily, there is a situation of violence and they also end up coming here. Therefore, this greater concentration of responses from APAV also tends to give expression to the district itself”, considered Carla Ferreira.
Until the next time Stay Safe…