A 45-year-old man was arrested on July 16 on suspicion of conducting home deliveries of drugs in Greater Lisbon, specifically in the Portuguese capital, Sintra, and Cascais. The arrest took place while the individual was engaged in “another illicit transaction” near his residence in Carnaxide.
The drug dealer was apprehended following the “identification of a significant focus of supply of narcotic products” in the area, with connections to Lisbon, Sintra, and Cascais, the Public Security Police (PSP) reported in a statement on Monday.
“The operation was carried out with safety and efficiency, and the suspect was detained without resistance inside a vehicle, alongside another individual who was questioned as a witness,” the security force added.
Authorities executed two search warrants at residences and five non-residential search warrants on vehicles, seizing approximately 1,875 individual doses of cocaine, 934 individual doses of MDMA, and 18 individual doses of hashish, as well as “23,110 euros in low-denomination notes, distributed across different areas and locations associated with the suspect.”
The seizure also included “digital scales with product traces, airtight bags, knives with residues, a cutting board, grinders, and mobile phones with communications relevant to the investigation,” in addition to “five vehicles, three of which were mid-high range, used in deliveries and suspected of being acquired with illicit proceeds.”
“The suspect acted as a direct supplier, operating on a ‘demand basis’ with personalized and rapid deliveries, utilizing digital platforms and electronic payments to ensure anonymity and impunity of transactions,” explained the PSP.
For this purpose, the individual would travel daily to “residences, public spaces, or pre-arranged addresses with clients,” delivering “packaged and fractioned cocaine and MDMA, reducing the risk of seizure by transporting controlled quantities.”
“Payments were preferably made via MB Way with cash withdrawal codes from ATMs, as well as in cash, to avoid traceability,” authorities reported.
The security force detailed that the investigation, which was “developed over several months and in record time, allowed the identification of multiple consumers and resellers who regularly turned to the defendant, maintaining a highly active and decentralized informal drug distribution network.”
“Despite not engaging in any lawful employment, the suspect displayed a lifestyle inconsistent with his socioeconomic status, showing signs of money laundering and possession of high-value assets,” the report stated.
In light of the “large quantity of drugs seized and the risk of flight, disturbance of public order, and continuation of criminal activity,” the man appeared for a preliminary judicial hearing and was placed in preventive detention.
This operation was conducted by the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the PSP, through the Oeiras Police Division and the Criminal Investigation Unit of Oeiras.
