Off-duty GNR officers mistaken for drug traffickers in gunfire incident at Trafaria
Two off-duty GNR officers were mistaken for drug traffickers during a night-time operation in Trafaria. Five suspects were ultimately detained after shots were fired into the air.
Off-duty GNR officers mistaken for traffickers during coastal operation in Almada
Two military personnel from the GNR post in Trafaria, Almada, had weapons pointed at them by colleagues during a night-time surveillance operation after being mistaken for members of an international drug trafficking network. The incident, described to Correio da Manhã by police sources as a "very risky", "confusing" situation that "could very well have ended badly", resulted in five suspects being detained.
The two officers were off duty when they learned of suspicious activity in the area. Dressed in civilian clothes, they proceeded to the location on their own initiative to attempt to stop what they believed to be trafficker activity. Upon arrival, they were identified as a threat by the Coastal Control Detachment of Lisbon team, which was operating in the field unaware of the presence of the two colleagues.
The Coastal Control Detachment team was conducting a surveillance operation with the objective of identifying and apprehending members of a logistical support network for the fast boats used in international drug trafficking. It was during the course of this mission that the two off-duty military personnel arrived at the location, triggering the confusion.
"It was not the ideal situation," an official GNR source admitted to Correio da Manhã, justifying what occurred with the "overzealousness" of the officers who, whilst off duty, decided to intervene. The five suspects ultimately surrendered following shots fired into the air, after which they were detained by the authorities.
Source: Correio da Manhã