Trial begins for eight suspects in 'Cristal Lab' operation in Santa Maria da Feira
Eight individuals face accusations of drug trafficking, money laundering and document forgery in a court in Aveiro district. The group leader admitted to much of the illegal activity.
Trial begins for eight suspects in 'Cristal Lab' operation in Santa Maria da Feira
Eight people appeared in the dock this Monday at Feira Court, in Aveiro district, for alleged involvement in a drug trafficking network, money laundering, document forgery and illegal driving. The case results from the 'Cristal Lab' operation, launched by the Judicial Police in Braga.
The group leader acknowledged before magistrates that he had committed much of the criminal activity attributed to him. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, this man, a foreign national, set up a clandestine unit in Caldas de São Jorge to refine coca paste into pure cocaine. The facility was capable of producing between five and ten kilogrammes of the substance daily.
The PJ in Braga, assisted by the Porto office and the GNR, discovered a hidden warehouse where the activity was taking place. Fourteen kilogrammes of cocaine were confiscated — approximately seventy thousand street doses — along with large quantities of solvents, petrol and acidic compounds.
To rent the spaces, the presumed network leader used documents with false identities, sustaining illicit businesses of international scope. Among the eight accused, half are awaiting the outcome whilst in prison under the most serious custody measure.
Source: Correio da Manhã
Source: Correio da Manhã