“As part of its responsibilities, the Diplomatic and Consular General Inspection is conducting an internal investigation”, in parallel with the inquiry by the Portuguese justice system, informed a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, without providing further details.
The Portuguese Judiciary Police (PJ) reported that an alleged organized criminal group arrested on Tuesday is suspected of assisting thousands of illegal immigrants from Brazil and the Indian subcontinent, with the help of an “insider” from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We had an insider, unfortunately, in that ministry [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] and in that service, who ceased their activity yesterday [Tuesday]. They played a fundamental role, as they ended up giving credibility to false information”, stated Avelino Lima, director of the PJ of the Center, during a press conference today.
The PJ announced that they have dismantled an alleged organized criminal group dedicated to recurring crimes of assisting illegal immigration, corruption, money laundering, and document forgery.
A total of 13 people were detained, including seven men and six women, among them seven entrepreneurs, a lawyer, and a staff member of the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs and the Portuguese Communities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the PJ, immigrants were recruited by the group through social media, where they were informed of “opportunities and facilities” for a “significant fee”.
“Then, there was a structure that handled all the work to allow these immigrants, once arrived here, to legalize themselves. Many of them never even set foot on national territory, but had residence title documents, impacting fiscal and social security levels. This is a worrying reality that has been growing more severe”, he indicated.
The alleged organized criminal group arrested on Tuesday reportedly assisted thousands of illegal immigrants with the aid of an “insider” in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, revealed today the director of the PJ of the Center.
Speaking to journalists, it was highlighted that this organized group with “clearly defined tasks” began operations at the beginning of 2022, having established consultancy companies for this purpose.
Among the services for which immigrants paid were obtaining job contracts, Tax Identification Numbers (NIF), Social Security Identification Numbers (NISS), National Health Service User Numbers (SNS), translation and certification of criminal records, opening bank accounts, residence attestations, among others.
As part of this operation by the Directorate of the Center, titled Gambérria, 40 searches were conducted, both residential and non-residential, in Coimbra, Espinho, Carregal do Sal, Amadora, Odivelas, Loures, and Lisbon.
Authorities seized “an enormous” collection of documentation used in the irregular legalization processes of foreigners, computer equipment, 11 vehicles (some high-powered), approximately one million euros in cash, and two elephant tusks weighing about 50 kilograms.
Additionally, various items acquired with the crime’s proceeds and objects used in document forgeries were seized, including a seal found in a company where thousands of foreign citizens’ criminal record certificates were “validated.”
The detainees include entrepreneurs, a lawyer, and even a staff member of the Directorate-General for Consular Affairs and the Portuguese Communities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Asset Recovery Office – Center has seized six properties, including two rustic buildings and four urban ones (a villa and three apartments), and froze 35 bank accounts, two financial products from the gaming company Betano, and a crypto asset account from Binance.
The investigation will continue, and “it is very likely that there will be more arrests.”
