Finance official and businessmen arrested in operation against illegal immigration
Criminal network sold regularisation of foreigners in Portugal. PJ seized weapons and cash in raids across the country.
Finance official and businessmen arrested in operation against illegal immigration
The Judicial Police detained four people, including a counter manager from the Tax Authority and three businessmen, in an investigation into human trafficking and clandestine immigration. The arrests and sixteen house searches took place on Tuesday in Cantanhede, Pombal, Alcobaça and Porto.
The investigation began in September 2025. Officers discovered that the gang was dedicated to legalising foreigners illegally on Portuguese territory, having already benefited thousands of citizens. The amounts charged were high, paid in exchange for documents needed for residence authorisation applications.
Curiously, some of the beneficiaries did not even live in Portugal. The PJ confirmed that several were registered as national workers with the Tax Authority and Social Security, when in reality they were in other European Union states.
The four detainees — aged between 33 and 55 — acted with the intention of obtaining substantial profits, resorting to sophisticated methods to deceive public entities and conceal their movements.
In the raids, computers were seized, documentation relating to foreigners' cases, three pistols and approximately 50,000 euros in cash.
The operation, named "Atlantic Mist", mobilised ninety PJ officers under the coordination of the Central Directorate. The detainees will be heard by the court for a decision on coercive measures.
Source: Diário de Notícias
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)