Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 13^th December 2023

Good morning. I would like to highlight in this weekly feature some of the excellent work undertaken by police. These cases show examples of thorough and painstaking investigations followed by well-coordinated and planned operations, resulting in seizures and recovery of stolen property and the arrest of those involved.

We start with yesterday – The case involves a mega-operation conducted by the Judicial Police against drug trafficking in the capital which resulted in the arrest of one of the biggest drug traffickers in the capital, Heitor Brandão, in the cafe he owned at the time of his arrest. The detainee is considered by the authorities to be one of the biggest Portuguese traffickers, as a result of the many kilos of drugs he trafficked into national territory. We are awaiting more details.

Another case, also yesterday, involved a mega GNR operation resulting in the arrest of 12 persons in Braga and Porto for the theft of over 100 vehicles. During the investigation, the GNR managed to return 27 vehicles to their owners. Ten men and two women were arrested on Sunday, in the districts of Porto and Braga. According to the GNR, they are suspected of stealing more than 100 vehicles, with an estimated value of three million euros. According to the press release, the action culminated in the execution of 12 arrest warrants, 54 search warrants, and 10 preventive seizures of bank accounts.

A different type of theft – but one that causes heavy losses to olive producers. The GNR in a more protracted operation have recovered more than 10 tonnes of olives and detrained 62 suspects of theft of agricultural products. These are the results of the GNR operation aimed at the present harvest season in the district of Beja. The data, indicated in a statement by the Beja Territorial Command of the GNR on Monday, relate to the period between June 26th and December 4th of the “Campo Seguro 2023” operation, which is still taking place in this Alentejo region. According to the GNR, in this period, 199 awareness-raising actions were carried out, in which 595 people were covered and 376 officers were involved.

A big thank you, therefore, to the security forces.

Turning now to the subject of fuel management (land cleaning). A research project in Coimbra has concluded that there is no significant difference in fire behaviour between managed and unmanaged areas close to infrastructure, and revealed a lack of scientific support for the current fuel management policy (Land cleaning).

Joaquim Sande Silva, who coordinated the InduForestFire research project, together with João Paulo Rodrigues, stated “We were unable to prove, in statistical terms, that there is a statistically significant difference between managed areas and unmanaged areas [next to infrastructure],” For the researcher and professor at the Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, the review of the legislation around fuel management bands that came out in 2018, after the large fires that had occurred the previous year, “has not produced with any scientific basis, nor experts in the field were not even consulted to produce this legislation.”

According to the researcher, the legislation currently in place forced “highly debatable work”, with trees of high heritage value being “cut down”, without any scientific support that could demonstrate that these same trees would be a threat to the safety of people and infrastructure. In the forestry component, the team focused on fuel management and the forest composition around infrastructures, “with the backdrop of the legislation currently in force and in the process of being reviewed and amended”. We await the outcome of this and how the results will impact on the fuel management laws currently in place and will monitor closely.

Lastly the Festive period for many means good food, good drink and great company. In the lead up to, and during, the festive period, however, we inevitable see an increase in alcohol related crime, especially drink driving and dangerous situations that people have little control over, resulting from excessive consumption of alcohol. The ANSR, GNR and PSP will be undertaking various operations to try and help people have and enjoyable and Safe Christmas and New Year’s festive period. We are promoting these through social media and newsletter etc., and as you all to follow the advice being given.

With that our team wishes you a very happy week ahead.

News

International operation detects 16 infractions for timber trafficking in Portugal

Lisbon, 12 December 2023 (Lusa) – Portuguese authorities registered 16 infractions linked to illegal timber trafficking in an international operation to combat networks involved in environmental crime, smuggling and tax evasion, among other crimes, it was announced today.

The “Madeira de Lei 2.0 2023” operation took place between the 13th and 17th of November and included the participation of the GNR, through the Nature and Environment Protection Service (SEPNA), the PSP, the Tax and Customs Authority (AT), the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) and the Maritime Police, reads a statement released today.

According to the statement, the inspection actions were encouraged by Europol and El PAcCTO (cooperation program between Europe and Latin America, based on assistance against organized transnational crime) and carried out within the scope of the Convention on International Trade in Species of Endangered Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

In addition to Portugal, they involved security forces and services from Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain and aimed to combat networks involved in environmental crime, illegal logging, smuggling, tax evasion, money laundering money and document fraud.

Of the 16 infractions for illegal timber trafficking detected in Portugal, five occurred due to lack of registration in the CITES national register and another five due to lack of registration and data recording in the Integrated Electronic Waste Registration System (SIRER), three due to lack of registration for the commercialization of exotic woods, two due to lack of registration as a wood commercialization operator and one due to lack of annual CITES endorsement.

29 infractions were also recorded for other reasons, namely the transport of goods and violation of the highway code.

The statement adds that, of the 213 inspection actions carried out, 108 were carried out on operators of trade and transformation of wood and wood products, 90 on transporters of wood and wood products and 15 on containers present in sea ports.

The operation also included the collaboration in certain inspection actions in the Districts of Braga, Porto and Santarém, from an expert from the Brazilian Federal Police in wood identification and forest information analysis.

At an international level, the entities highlight that, out of a total of 226 inspection actions, wood from Myanmar (formerly Burma) was seized, worth €12,000, and wood from Brazil worth €67,000.

“The illegal timber trade is an abominable practice that involves the devastation of an area of ​​forest equivalent to a football field every two seconds around the world. The illegal timber trade depletes natural resources in countries of origin and has a direct impact on deforestation and, consequently, climate change,” noted Europol.

The illicit timber trade is one of the most financially profitable transnational criminal activities, generating almost 6.5 billion euros annually.

Various types of wood – such as teak, rosewood, ipê and Pernambuco – are highly sought after in European countries, where they are used for various purposes, including the creation of ornaments and construction in general.

Organized criminal groups mask the origin of wood through falsifying documents and bribery to get through customs controls, which is why this crime includes numerous environmental crimes, illegal logging, smuggling, document fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.