In a statement published on its page, the Associação para Memória Futura highlighted that the arrests made by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) on Tuesday in Beja are of significant gravity. These arrests involved 10 GNR military personnel and one PSP officer, underscoring the mistake of abolishing the SEF.
In addition to the 11 members of the police forces detained on suspicion of belonging to a criminal network facilitating illegal immigration, the PJ also arrested six other individuals. Today, the 17 defendants are being heard at the Tribunal Central de Instrução Criminal in Lisbon to determine the respective coercive measures.
The case concerns a network controlling about 500 foreign workers in Alentejo, most of whom are in irregular situations in Portugal. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the immigrants were willing to work without formal contracts and received wages below the market standards for their roles, such as in agriculture.
The “Safra Justa” operation involves suspicions of crimes related to aiding illegal immigration, human trafficking, active and passive corruption, and abuse of power.
The Associação para Memória Futura questioned, “Was this the reason for the abolition of the SEF? Was this what they intended with SEF’s responsibilities?”
Former SEF employees emphasized that five years after the abolition of this body, “the PSP is still unprepared” to handle matters related to foreigners. They added that PSP representatives continue to “lack awareness of the complexities of return processes, underestimating the diligent and highly informed work that the SEF carried out in criminal investigation.”
