The National Directorate announced today that the PSP detained several foreign nationals in Portugal who were using a rental car from Spain. They attempted to flee authorities but were intercepted after a pursuit supported by the GNR.
A source connected to the case informed that the seven detainees are Colombian nationals, who traveled to Portugal with the intent to carry out a spree of residential burglaries, which was thwarted by police intervention.
The PSP noted that during the intervention, the suspects, aged between 35 and 55, “did not comply with the stop signals” from security forces, “prompting a more forceful and coercive action from police and military personnel, including the effective use of firearms.”
Six of the intercepted suspects were taken to PSP facilities, while another was assisted at the scene and transported to Hospital Garcia de Orta (where they remain hospitalized) after sustaining injuries during the vehicle interception.
The suspects were already under a non-flagrant arrest warrant issued by judicial authorities on the suspicion and strong evidence of having rented a vehicle in Spain (which was intercepted and seized) and traveling to Portugal, where they committed multiple thefts across various locations in the country between October 10 and 20.
According to the PSP, the detainees, who will be heard Thursday morning in their first judicial hearing at the Sintra Court for the application of coercive measures, allegedly conducted burglaries inside residences in Almada and Aroeira (within the Almada district), Belas (Sintra), Caldas da Rainha, Estoril (Cascais district), Figueira da Foz, Lisbon, Loures, Nazaré, and Oeiras.
Several objects suspected to be stolen were seized from the vehicle used by the suspects.
