Eight young Spanish citizens detained with 3,750 litres of fuel in Quarteira
The GNR intercepted a van with 150 jerry cans of petrol in the Quarteira area, Loulé. The eight detainees, aged between 17 and 21, refused to make statements in court.
Detained in early hours in Loulé, young Spanish citizens remain silent on fuel trafficking suspicions
Eight Spanish citizens, aged between 17 and 21, were detained by military personnel from the GNR's coastal control division during the early hours of Friday in the Quarteira area, in Loulé municipality. According to Correio da Manhã, the young men were inside a goods vehicle that was transporting 150 jerry cans of petrol, each with a capacity of 25 litres, totalling 3,750 litres of fuel seized.
The military personnel identified the presence of the vehicle in a remote location as suspicious and proceeded with an approach. None of the eight occupants explained the reason for being at the location, nor did they account for possession of the volume of fuel in question.
The suspects were constituted as accused persons on suspicion of the crime of fuel smuggling and subsequently presented before the court in Loulé. When questioned about any possible links to drug trafficking, all refused to make statements, maintaining the same silence they had observed at the moment of detention.
The court ordered the release of the eight accused persons.
Lawyer Pedro Pestana, who represents two of the detainees, stressed that "no link has been proven between my clients and any drug trafficking crimes".
Source: Correio da Manhã