The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday May 1st 2024
by Mike Evans
Good afternoon to you all and we start this report with news of a massive Faro police operation which has resulted in over 70 people being accused of computer fraud, money laundering and criminal association. With so much of our lives almost governed by the use of computers or mobile devices we are all susceptible to this sort of crime and it is imperative that we are all aware of these dangers. You can read more on this story further into this report.
In addition with the weather still showing signs of rain the threat of drought conditions seems for now to have rescinded. Also this week saw a number of celebrations throughout the region to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of April 25. There were large parades in Faro and Albufeira as people took to the streets to celebrate the “Carnation Revolution 50 years ago. Hundreds of people gathered, through the streets of Faro , in the traditional 25th of April parade, to mark 50 years of the Revolution.
The gathering began at 4pm in Jardim Manuel Bívar, with the parade travelling through various streets of the city for around 40 minutes, ending in Largo Catarina Eufémia. Participants held posters and red carnations and shouted slogans.
“Freedom Always”, “April is more future” and “Stop the war, an opportunity for peace” could be read on some posters while slogans were chanted such as: “April 25 always, fascism never again”, “ Peace yes, war no” and “the united people will never be defeated”.USAL coordinator, Catarina Marques, highlighted the importance of celebrating the date, “not only to affirm the values of April, which allowed access to housing, health, increased wages and improved lives for all, but also to defend these achievements and all these advances. Without defending these values achieved on April 25, 1974 and enshrined in the Constitution in 1976, we cannot achieve progress, development and improvement in living and working conditions for everyone”.
Catarina Marques added that, although several achievements have been made, “a lot still needs to be accomplished”, particularly in the Algarve, “one of the poorest and most socially excluded regions”.
“The issues of wage appreciation and pensions are extremely important for people to be able to have a dignified life, as is investment in the National Health Service, public schools and Social Security, which are achievements and values that we must continue to defend and to affirm them”, he highlighted.
The celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April in the Algarve capital ended with interventions by party and union leaders from the Algarve.
Now for a look at some of the stories that have happened across the region since the last report.
More than 70 people accused of banking computer fraud by the Faro MP
The Public Ministry (MP) of Faro charged 71 people with the crimes of computer fraud, money laundering and criminal association, some of which belonged to the Brazilian criminal organisation Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), it was announced this Monday, the 29th.
According to a note published on the Évora Regional Attorney General’s Office portal, the defendants, of Portuguese and Brazilian nationalities, but also from African countries, were dedicated to capturing data and access codes to bank accounts, which they accessed and subtract money.
According to the MP, the defendants acted using a method called ‘phishing’, by creating a false page identical to those of banking institutions, to convince victims that they were accessing their banks’ real portals and inserting their account access credentials there. In possession of the data, the criminals entered the victim’s bank account through the bank’s real page and programmed a monetary transfer to the bank account of another element linked to the organisation, details the MP.
Later, he adds, posing as a bank employee, they called the victim to inform him that they had detected a false banking transaction, and that to cancel it they needed the code that the bank was going to send to their cell phone.
The defendants then created a second page where they reflected the fraudulent operation, which the victim accessed, already convinced that they were real bank employees and that they wanted to cancel the transfer.
As the defendants remained on the phone with the victim, the victim told them the code that allowed them to validate the bank transfer operation, then circulated the money through various bank accounts between Portugal and Brazil, in order to be laundered, according to the report.
For the MP, the success of the crime is related to the speed with which the computer operations were carried out, using computers that may be housed in a third country and the credibility that the defendants conveyed in dialogue with the victim.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, it is a well-structured organisation, where the defendants have specific functions, namely those who dealt with IT, those who called victims and those who made bank accounts available in order to circulate money. .
The accusation against the 71 defendants was brought on April 22 by the director of the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action ( DIAP ) of the district of Faro, in an investigation carried out by the Judiciary Police.
PSP will intensify inspection of TVDE vehicles at the airport
The PSP will intensify inspection of unmarked individual passenger transport vehicles (TVDE) in the Algarve, during the summer period, especially at the Gago Coutinho international airport, in Faro , where on Tuesday it raised five administrative offences, the police announced.
In a statement, the Faro District Command of the PSP highlighted that the inspection aimed at TVDE vehicles is carried out “cyclically” throughout its jurisdiction, in which the airport is located, which has an “especially intense” activity of transport vehicles individual mischaracterized.
In the last inspection, carried out on Tuesday, five infractions were recorded, noted the PSP, warning that, “as infractions continue to be identified” – and in 2023, 60 infractions were sanctioned at the airport alone –, operations will be particularly intensified throughout the summer period.
Quarteira Apartment fire leaves four injured.
A fire in an apartment in Quarteira, in the district of Faro , left six people homeless today, four of whom suffered minor injuries, a Civil Protection source told Lusa.
According to the Civil Protection Algarve Sub-regional Command, the four people were transported to Faro Hospital, due to minor burns and smoke inhalation.
The same source said that the alert for the fire was received at 10:00, with the contents of the apartment, located on the first floor, in the centre of that Algarve city, burning.In turn, a source from the Republican National Guard told Lusa that six people live in the house and that “they will eventually need to be rehoused”.
According to the police source, the causes of the fire “are still unknown and are being investigated”.
Contacted by Lusa, the mayor of Loulé, Vítor Aleixo, said that the municipality’s technicians are monitoring the situation and collecting information, “to check whether people will need support to be relocated”.
According to information available on the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority portal, 19 operators were involved in the firefighting and assistance operations with the support of seven vehicles.
PJ arrests man in Loulé for robbery
The Judiciary Police ( PJ ) arrested a 25-year-old man, accused of being a co-author of a robbery crime , which occurred in October 2023, in Loulé.
The man is accused of having robbed, together with others, using a firearm, a commercial establishment in Loulé, from where they stole money and consumer goods.
According to the police force, the detainee will be brought before the judicial authority for interrogation and the application of coercive measures. “The investigation, conducted by the Southern Directorate , in partnership with the Republican National Guard, continues, aiming to identify and locate the remaining suspects,” the PJ said in a statement.
GNR seizes illegal gaming machines in Faro
The GNR Tax Action Unit seized 495 gaming machines on Monday in commercial establishments, warehouses and residences in the districts of Faro , Beja, Setúbal and Lisbon, and accused two men and one woman, it was announced today.
The seizure culminated an investigation started in 2021, to combat illegal gambling and tax fraud, “targeting the criminal offences of exploiting games of chance, fraud and abuse of tax trust”, the GNR said in a statement.
According to the security force, the investigation made it possible to identify the locations used as illicit gambling establishments, as well as those that were used for storing and distributing the respective machines. During searches carried out in establishments and residences in the districts of Faro, Beja, Lisbon and Setúbal, 495 machines, 1,109 posters associated with the machines and 874.50 euros were seized, specified the GNR.
The operation also resulted in the arrest of three defendants, two men and one woman, aged between 52 and 64, and two legal entities, one operating restaurants and the other distributing recreational products.
The police operation of the Faro Fiscal Action detachment was reinforced by soldiers from the Lisbon and Évora GNR Research and Fiscal Action detachments, with the support of the Tax and Customs Authority.
The case was sent to the Judicial Court of Olhão, in the district of Faro.
The Republican National Guard says that it continues to carry out daily inspection and criminal investigation actions to combat illegal gambling and tax fraud.
“The GNR will continue, not only to promote awareness-raising actions aimed at preventing these behaviours, but also to develop inspection actions, through a recurring presence in the places where it is observed”, concludes the republican national guard.
PJ investigates death in apartment destroyed by fire in VRSA
The Judiciary Police (PJ) is investigating the death of a 63-year-old man found in an apartment destroyed by a fire, which occurred during the early hours of the 23rd, in Vila Real de Santo António ( VRSA ).
An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances under which the death and fire occurred. According to the Civil Protection Algarve Sub-Regional Command, the fire alert was given at around 1:20 am, via 112, with one fatal victim and five homeless people being found.
The mayor of Vila Real de Santo António, Álvaro Araújo, said that the municipality provided accommodation for the five homeless people, but they refused. “There are five people who refused the accommodation provided by the municipality and stayed at a family member’s house”, he highlighted. “The information I have, which has not yet been confirmed, is that the person did not live in that house and, even for that reason, it is strange that he appeared there”, pointed out Álvaro Araújo.
According to Civil Protection, 23 operatives from the VRSA and Castro Marim Volunteer Fire Brigades, the Municipal Civil Protection, the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), the PSP, PJ and from the company E-Redes.
Preventive detention for woman who fatally assaulted her partner
A criminal investigation judge in Faro today ordered the preventive detention of a woman who, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, fatally attacked her husband with a knife last Friday, the Public Ministry reported.
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the preventive detention of the detainee, which was granted by the Criminal Investigation Judge”, according to a statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the District of Faro.
This decision was taken after the Public Prosecutor of the Olhão section of the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) presented today to the Criminal Investigation Court of Faro, for the first judicial interrogation, a 35-year-old woman who was indicted for the practice of a crime of qualified homicide of her 50-year-old partner. According to the Public Prosecutor’s report, last Friday, in a house in Olhão, “the detainee bit her partner on the forehead” and then, at around 11:00 p.m After accusing him of having a lover, the suspect “equipped herself with a knife and, under an apparent alcoholic state, struck her companion in the right pectoral region and left dorsal region, causing his death”.
A police source told the Lusa agency on Saturday that, after the crime, which occurred last Friday, “the woman left the scene” and the following morning “surrendered herself to the PSP police station” in the Algarve city.
After the attack, the victim was rescued at the scene by emergency teams, but it was not possible to perform resuscitation, and death was declared at the scene by the doctor from the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM).
The investigation of this case is in charge of the southern directorate of the Judicial Police.
Man dies on Albufeira beach
A man died on Saturday on Inatel beach, in Albufeira, after allegedly experiencing difficulties at sea, revealed the National Maritime Authority (AMN). The fatal victim is 52 years old, Irish national, and was also helped by two people, who were also in difficulty and had to be removed from the sea by lifeguards, but alive, said the AMN in a statement.
The Maritime Authority clarified that the alert was received at 12:54, stating that “there were three people in difficulty in the water”, but, when the resources sent to the beach arrived at the scene, the victims had already been removed from the water by lifeguards. “Upon arrival at the scene, the Maritime Police found that the three people were rescued by lifeguards from the adjacent beach, Praia dos Pescadores, with one of the victims being removed from the water in an unconscious state”, he explained.
Members of the local Command of the Maritime Police of Portimão, the Volunteer Firefighters of Albufeira, the Emergency and Resuscitation Medical Vehicle of INEM and the GNR were sent to the scene, but the victim could not be resuscitated, despite the efforts made by the medical emergency department. and by lifeguards.
“The 52-year-old man, of Irish nationality, was promptly assisted by lifeguards who began resuscitation manoeuvres, until the arrival of the Albufeira Volunteer Firefighters and INEM, who continued the manoeuvres, but without success’ ‘, lamented the AMN.
The same source stressed that the death was declared on site by the INEM medical team and that, upon recommendation from the Public Ministry, the body was transported to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Portimão.
The AMN also highlighted that it was necessary to activate the Maritime Police Psychology Office to provide assistance to the victim’s family.
“According to what was possible to ascertain, the 52-year-old man was in difficulties in the water, with two members of the public trying to rescue him without success and also getting into difficulties’ ‘, warned the AMN.
Maritime Authorities have been warning about the danger the sea poses at this time of year, when temperatures are already high, leading many people to go to the beaches and enjoy the sea.
Despite the good weather, many beaches are still unsupervised and bathers need to be careful, as they are not aware of the strong currents and strength of the sea, and can get into difficulties when they enter the sea.
3 men in Faro for robbery, prison escape and domestic violence
The PSP District Command , through the Faro Criminal Investigation Squadron , during the last week, arrested 3 men, accused of crimes of robbery, theft and domestic violence.
One of the men is suspected of having committed crimes of aggravated robbery and robbery, using a sharp weapon, near an educational establishment.
On the same day, the PSP arrested another suspect, who was confirmed to have escaped from a prison establishment. The man had drugs and money in his possession, and was arrested and taken to the prison to serve the remaining time in prison. Following the investigation, it was possible to arrest another suspect accused of committing the crime of domestic violence. “The criminal conduct presented an increasing risk to the suspect’s family, generating fear and fear in the victims, so, following the issuance of an arrest warrant by the Judicial Authority, the suspect was located and detained”, informs the PSP in a statement.
PSP arrested five men for drug trafficking
The PSP arrested five men for drug trafficking and seized almost 370 kilos of hashish in the Lisbon and Algarve area.
According to the PSP Lisbon Metropolitan Command, the arrests of the five men, aged between 25 and 60, were made through the criminal investigation squad of the Loures police division and the Special Operations Group of the Special Police Unit.
The Public Security Police states that these arrests arise within the scope of an investigation led by the Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP) of Loures that had been going on for around a year, having carried out seven home search warrants and four non-Domestic search in the areas of Odivelas, Loures, Lisbon, Quarteira and Ericeira. The PSP also states that two of the detainees of Spanish nationality had warrants issued by their country of origin to serve 5 years and 15 years in prison for drug trafficking crimes.
During this operation, the police seized 732,000 individual doses of hashish, the equivalent of 366 kilos, 9.7 individual doses of ecstasy, 122,170 euros in banknotes, 18 cell phones and three vehicles.
The five detainees were presented to the investigating judge, with four being held in preventive detention and one with an identity and residence permit.
Thank you for reading this report and until the next time Stay Safe
Yesterday, the AMN, National Maritime Authority, once again, warned of the dangers of the sea, which is still very cold, despite the warmer temperatures we have all felt over the past few days. This weekend alone, more than 200 rescues were carried out and four people disappeared into the sea having been swept away. The AMN has issued some instructions for people travelling to the beach. They say that it is necessary to permanently monitor children and do not allow them to move away, always keeping them close to an adult”, “avoid risky behaviour, not approaching the water or walking on wet sand” and “do not turn your back on the sea and always offer a safe distance in relation to the waterline, avoiding being surprised by a wave.
When they arrived at the scene, the young woman was already dead. After authorization from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the body was collected and transported by the crew from the Lifeguard Station to the Port of Baleeira, where death was declared by the doctor from the Emergency and Resuscitation Medical Vehicle (VMER)», emphasises the AMN.
The Arade Dam, which serves them, is the only one in the country that remains in the red classification, because rainwater was retained upstream in a dam dedicated to public supply. It is up to the Permanent Drought Commission to review the restrictions framework, but with the new Government taking office, the meeting scheduled for this month does not yet have a scheduled date.
Meteorologist Mara João Frada explained that the mass of cold air that is currently on the continent will be gradually replaced by a mass of hot, tropical air.
During a maritime patrol and surveillance action south of Tavira , the Navy ship NRP Cassiopeia detected a Spanish fishing vessel carrying out illegal fishing activity using seine gear in the early hours of Wednesday. On board were more than three tons of sardines, the capture of which is prohibited until May 1, 2024, due to the species’ closed season.
As was the case in most of the country, most specific crimes increased compared with 2022. The figures are as follows but should be considered preliminary pending the publication of the RASI report. For the Algarve specifically;
Despite the increase seen in the last month, the amount of water retained in the windward basin was far from the average, which is 74.1%. In February this basin was at 12.5% of its capacity and in January it was at 9.4%.
Of the 22,263 drivers monitored during the operation, 303 were driving with excess alcohol and 165 were arrested for driving with a blood alcohol level greater than 1.2 g/l.