Woman arrested in Elvas with crack and heroin remanded in custody
A 51-year-old woman was arrested in Elvas in possession of drugs purchased in Spain. The court ordered remand in custody on lesser drug trafficking charges.
Arrested in Elvas with crack and heroin bought in Badajoz
A 51-year-old woman will remain in remand in custody after being arrested in Elvas, in Portalegre district, in possession of crack and heroin acquired in Badajoz, Spain. The case was disclosed on Friday by the Public Prosecutor's Office, according to observador.pt.
The defendant was in possession of 5.64 grammes of crack — equivalent to 28.2 individual doses — and 1.25 grammes of heroin, corresponding to 12.5 individual doses, when she was intercepted. The drugs had been purchased in Spain.
Searches carried out at the woman's home in Elvas resulted in the seizure of objects related to the preparation, cutting and packaging of drug doses. A receipt was also found proving a deposit of 300 euros into the defendant's bank account. The account showed an available balance of approximately 2,000 euros, a sum considered by the Public Prosecutor's Office (PPO) "incompatible with her declared income", namely Social Insertion Income (RSI).
The woman appeared before the court on Wednesday, with the PPO requesting the escalation of precautionary measures, not only because of the continuation of criminal activity, but also due to non-compliance with measures already in force.
This is not the defendant's first encounter with justice within the context of the same proceedings. In November of last year, the PPO had presented her for an initial judicial interrogation for drug trafficking and requested remand in custody. The court then opted for less stringent measures — identity and residence order, fortnightly reporting to the police station, prohibition on contacting co-defendants and drug users, prohibition on frequenting places associated with trafficking, and prohibition on leaving the municipality of residence — on the grounds that the appropriate legal classification would be lesser drug trafficking.
The PPO appealed that decision and the Court of Appeal upheld its position, although that decision has not yet been finalised, given that the defendant filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court.
Following the new arrest, the court reviewed the remand in custody request made by the PPO and this time granted the measure, however maintaining the classification of the facts as lesser drug trafficking. The defendant will therefore await trial in remand in custody, charged with that offence.
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)