GNR in Pombal seizes 20,000 doses of cocaine and hashish and detains four suspects
The operation, which began in Ansião, resulted in the detention of three men and one woman aged between 20 and 38 years. Also seized were 6,260 euros, 16 mobile phones and 14 cylinders of nitrous oxide.
GNR operation culminates in detention of four people and seizure of drugs in Leiria, Guarda and Setúbal
The Criminal Investigation Unit of the GNR in Pombal detained four people and seized approximately 20,000 doses of cocaine and hashish as part of an investigation lasting roughly one year, according to Correio da Manhã. The operation was announced on Friday by the GNR.
The investigation began in Ansião, in the Leiria district, and progressively expanded to other regions of the country. According to a source from the Territorial Command of the National Republican Guard in Leiria, cited by the Lusa agency, the military personnel identified branches of drug trafficking with links to Seia, in the Guarda district, and to Montijo, in the Setúbal district.
On Wednesday, the GNR executed three arrest warrants and twelve search warrants — four residential and eight non-residential, including seven vehicles. Three men and one woman, aged between 20 and 38 years, were detained.
Seizures include cocaine, hashish, money and equipment
The operation resulted in the seizure of 3.520 kilograms of cocaine, corresponding to 17,600 individual doses, and 1.3635 kilograms of hashish resin, equivalent to 2,727 doses. Also confiscated were 6,260 euros in cash, 16 mobile phones, four digital weighing scales, two banknote counting machines, two motor vehicles, televisions, items in gold and various computer equipment related to drug trafficking.
The same GNR source also highlighted the seizure of 14 cylinders of two kilograms of nitrous oxide — a substance known as "laughing gas" — considered a growing warning sign.
"We have been finding this psychoactive substance increasingly throughout the country, which in the eyes of users is harmless and used in recreational situations, but its effect causes addiction. We are alert to this illicit drug," the GNR source told Lusa.
Detainees brought before court in Leiria
The four defendants were brought on Friday for their initial judicial interrogation at the Judicial Court of Leiria.
The operation was supported by the criminal investigation structure of the Territorial Command of Leiria, the GNR Intervention Unit and the Territorial Commands of the GNR in Guarda and Setúbal.
Source: Correio da Manhã