Operation 'Atlantic Mist': two women held in custody for immigration fraud in Coimbra
The Criminal Instruction Court of Coimbra has ordered the pre-trial detention of two women linked to an accounting office and suspended the functions of a Finance Service chief, all suspected of irregularly legalising thousands of immigrants.
Operation 'Atlantic Mist': two women held in custody for immigration fraud in Coimbra
The Criminal Instruction Court of Coimbra applied pre-trial detention to two women linked to an accounting office on Monday. A Finance Service chief was likewise removed from his duties. All are suspected of being part of a network that allegedly managed to illegally regularise thousands of foreign citizens, generating profits in the millions.
In addition to detention, the two defendants were prohibited from contacting other suspects and participants in the case, according to a statement from the Coimbra Regional Public Prosecutor's Office.
The Finance Service civil servant, also identified as a member of the group, had his functions suspended and was prevented from contacting defendants, participants and subordinates, as well as from accessing the facilities of the service he managed.
A fourth suspect, of foreign nationality, was ordered to make periodic reports to the authorities, to surrender his passport and not to leave the national territory. He was likewise prohibited from contacting the remaining suspects.
The four individuals were detained the previous week as part of the police operation "Atlantic Mist". According to the authorities, the group is said to have profited millions of euros by facilitating the regularisation of thousands of immigrants, most of whom lived in other European states.
The crimes in question include criminal association, aiding illegal immigration, corruption and money laundering. The action by the Judicial Police resulted in the detention of five people, amongst them a Finance Service employee in the Centre region, and the constitution of a further 15 defendants.
According to Avelino Lima, director of the Judicial Police in the Centre, the network operated mainly in the zone between Cantanhede and Mealhada. The suspects presented themselves to migrants as a legitimate service provider, charging approximately 200 euros for each process initiated.
According to the requirements of each case file, they demanded additional amounts to create tax identification numbers, to register employment contracts with companies — some real, others fictitious — or to qualify clients as self-employed workers through green receipts.
The overwhelming majority of the immigrants who resorted to these services are not even in Portugal, residing mainly in Belgium, France and Switzerland, the Judicial Police official clarified.
Avelino Lima indicated that approximately ten thousand immigrants may be involved, although the exact number is still being established, since some processes date back to 2022. The official warned of the capacity of these organisations to infiltrate State structures, driven by the high financial gains they generate.
A fifth person was also detained during the operation, but only for possession of a prohibited weapon, in a separate procedure.
Source: Correio da Manhã
Source: Correio da Manhã