Meteorologia

  • 23 NOVEMBER 2024
Tempo
17º
MIN 13º MÁX 22º

One of the three arrested in Operation Puma remains in preventive detention

One of the three detained in the 'Operation Puma' of the Judicial Police (PJ), which led to the seizure of 553 kilos of cocaine in the port of Sines, was remanded in custody, with other coercive measures being applied to the other detainees.

One of the three arrested in Operation Puma remains in preventive detention
Notícias ao Minuto

17:03 - 20/05/24 por Lusa

País Sines

The information was released today by the director of the PJ's National Unit to Combat Drug Trafficking, Artur Vaz, at a press conference at the police headquarters in Lisbon.

According to Artur Vaz, the more than 500 kilos of cocaine were hidden inside around 1,700 cans of fruit juice, coming from Latin America, by sea, and the containers where they were stored remained "for some time" in the port of Sines, where they were located.

"Following the investigations that were carried out by the PJ, it was finally possible to identify three suspects who, according to the information gathered, were related to this import, which is why the respective arrests were made", said the director of the PJ unit about the three detainees, one of whom is Portuguese.

Information gathered by the PJ also made it possible to determine the existence of other containers in Spain, in the port of Vigo, where another 490 kilos of cocaine were found hidden in a container whose legal cargo was melon, with Artur Vaz stating that "it is the same group that is behind both imports", in Portugal and Spain.

In the joint operation with the Spanish authorities, it was possible to seize more than one ton of cocaine in Sines and Vigo, with Artur Vaz highlighting the importance of international cooperation to carry out these operations.

Regarding the drug seized in Portugal, the director of the PJ's National Unit to Combat Drug Trafficking acknowledged the "very ingenious" way in which it was hidden.

"The PJ is used to dealing with these types of situations in which organisations hide drugs in the most varied types of materials. This is just one more. Of course, in this case of the juice packaging, it is very ingenious, it makes it extremely difficult to detect the drug, it is more complicated, but it is up to the authorities to do this work", he said.

Read also: Fruit juices seized in Sines were hiding more than 500 kg of cocaine (Portuguese version)

Recomendados para si

;
Campo obrigatório