Car businessman detained on suspicion of international cocaine trafficking
A 42-year-old man involved in vehicle sales was arrested by the Judicial Police in the capital, accused of belonging to a criminal group that moved large quantities of narcotics between Latin America and Portugal.
Car businessman detained on suspicion of international cocaine trafficking
A 42-year-old man engaged in business in the automotive sector was taken into custody by the Judicial Police in the Lisbon region. The accusation points to his alleged membership of a transnational criminal group dedicated to the narcotics business. The operation was conducted by the Judicial Police's Northern unit and began in the spring of the previous year, as reported by Renascença.
Everything began when authorities inspected a merchant vessel carrying cargo from Latin American territories. Inside a container they discovered a consignment of more than 800 kilos of cocaine, disguised in packaging for cat litter box substrate. This discovery had previously prompted the arrest of a pair of suspects in the western zone of the country.
As investigators continued their work, inspectors discovered a clandestine industrial facility in a warehouse located in Caldas da Rainha. The space functioned as a drug processing installation. During the search of the premises, dozens of kilos of refined cocaine were seized, along with various chemical compounds and equipment used in converting base paste into finished product.
The detainee will now be brought before a judge of the criminal court to be heard at a preliminary interrogation hearing. At that hearing, the judge will decide whether restrictive measures of liberty are to be imposed on him.
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)