The Portuguese National Republican Guard (GNR), through the Canha Territorial Post in the Setúbal command, has arrested a 32-year-old man and named two other individuals, also aged 32 and 36, as defendants. The suspects are accused of fraud.
The GNR stated they received a fraud report in the municipality of Montemor-o-Novo, prompting an immediate investigation.
“The suspects operated in an organized manner, targeting victims in particularly vulnerable situations, especially due to age,” the authority noted.
The suspects would stop chosen victims by using a car equipped with lights and sirens, convincing the victims, also in a vehicle, to stop, believing they had been signaled by an authority.
The men would then approach the victim, falsely identifying themselves as members of a criminal police body, showing a professional badge and leading the individual to believe they had committed a traffic offense.
Once the victim was convinced, suspects would require an “immediate payment,” claiming it was to settle a fine.
“In the course of police investigations, GNR officers managed to identify and locate the suspect’s vehicle and those involved in the illicit activities in Pegões,” in the Montijo municipality. The GNR also conducted searches of the suspects and the vehicle reportedly used in the crimes.
As a result of these steps, authorities arrested one suspect and named two others as defendants. During the searches, they discovered a concealed device resembling a baton, a professional badge without a crest, and “various objects related to the crime.”
The detained individual has also been named as a defendant, and after appearing before the Montemor-o-Novo Judicial Court, was subjected to measures prohibiting contact with the other two defendants and ordered to report twice weekly to the police station in his area of residence.
