Eleven law enforcement officers—ten officers of the National Republican Guard (GNR) and one officer of the Public Security Police (PSP)—were arrested on the morning of Tuesday, November 25, on suspicion of enslaving irregular immigrants in Portugal.
“The case involves a criminal organization that controlled hundreds of foreign workers, most of whom were in irregular situations in Portugal,” explained the Judiciary Police (PJ) in a statement.
The law enforcement officers (and another six civilians) are suspected of at least four crimes, according to the PJ: “assisting illegal immigration, forgery, tax fraud, and money laundering.”
GNR condemns crimes and declares no place for offenders
In a statement sent to the press, the GNR expressed “total repudiation of any acts that jeopardize human rights, the dignity of people, and the good name of all its military and civilian personnel, women and men who selflessly serve Portugal and the Portuguese people every day.”
In this context, the guard emphasized that there is no place in its ranks “for people whose behavior may corrupt the commitment to honor and ethical exemplarity that guides us and which we assume towards the society and citizens we serve.”
PSP officer detained was on “extended sick leave for 14 months”
The PSP provided additional information about the detained officer, noting that he is a police officer assigned to the Beja District Command who was “unarmed and on extended sick leave for 14 months.”
In a statement sent to the press, the authority explained that the man is “detained under PSP custody, in provisional detention cells […] to later be presented by the PJ to the competent judicial authority.”
“The Public Security Police vehemently rejects any conduct, internal or external, that constitutes a flagrant violation of these principles,” the Police further emphasized.
President calls for “rapid investigation”
Reacting to the detention of the eleven professionals, the President of the Republic refused to comment on the situation, stating that he does not comment “on specific cases, especially those under judicial investigation.”
Speaking to journalists after a conference on November 25, 1975, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa urged for a swift investigation. “Why quickly? First, because the alleged crimes are serious, and second, because members of institutions that are very important in Portuguese society are involved,” he said, emphasizing that the reputation and credibility of the PSP and GNR could be compromised due to these agents’ crimes.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Internal Administration stated that the institutions functioned as intended: “The institutions worked, there are suspicions, the application of legal rules will be impeccable, and if anything was wrong, it will be clarified.”
Incidents of violence against immigrants on the rise
In recent years, Portuguese justice has detained and charged several GNR officers for crimes against immigrants.
In 2018, specifically, there were two incidents of this nature, involving crimes of kidnapping, home invasion, and assaults on immigrant workers.
In September, seven officers were charged for assaulting and insulting foreigners, capturing the moment when, in particular, one of the GNR officers forced an immigrant to place in his mouth the tube of a breathalyzer that contained pepper spray.
In October, another similar case occurred: five officers assaulted immigrants in fake stop operations.
In May of this year, two officers were detained for extortion from “citizens belonging to minorities,” the GNR explained in a statement at the time, noting that the officers abused their “authority and, in some cases, used excessive force.”
Detainees to appear in court this Wednesday
This latest incident is part of the Safra Justa operation from yesterday, where “through temporary employment agencies created for the purpose,” the criminal network, supported by law enforcement officers, “took advantage of the vulnerability of immigrants “by exploiting them, charging for accommodations and food, and keeping them under coercion through threats, including episodes of physical assault.”
The 17 detainees from this operation will be presented “in the afternoon of this Wednesday” for their first judicial interrogation at the Central Criminal Court of Inquiry (TCIC) in Lisbon, according to a police source cited by the Lusa agency.
Ten members of the National Republican Guard and a Public Security Police officer were detained this Tuesday for allegedly exploiting and enslaving immigrants (mostly in irregular situations).
Carolina Pereira Soares | 09:20 – 25/11/2025
