Six individuals, including two women and four men aged between 30 and 68 years, were arrested on Tuesday. They are suspected members of a criminal cell involved in thefts from jewelry stores across various regions of the country, according to the PSP.
The suspects were presented for initial judicial hearings at the Tribunal de Beja on Wednesday and today, PSP sources reported to Agência Lusa.
The court imposed the harshest preventive measures on a man, who has been sent to Beja Prison, and his wife, who has been transferred to Odemira Prison, to await the ongoing judicial process.
For the other suspects, two have been placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring devices, while the remainder must report themselves to security forces in their respective residential areas.
A PSP statement on Tuesday revealed that three suspects were intercepted and apprehended by police at 03:25 on the Ponte 25 de Abril in Lisbon following a break-in at a jewelry store in Charneca da Caparica, Almada, Setúbal district.
The remaining suspects were detained circa 07:30 on the same day, with arrests occurring in the counties of Seixal (Setúbal), Sintra, and Sacavém (Lisbon), through warrants executed outside of the immediate scene of the crime.
The PSP reported substantial evidence implicating the six individuals in jewelry store thefts in locations including Almodôvar, Beja, Braga, Chamusca, Charneca da Caparica, Entroncamento, Évora, Mira, and Portimão.
The trio captured on the Ponte 25 de Abril had with them an assortment of items believed to have been stolen from jewelry stores. These items were confiscated by the authorities.
Objects allegedly seized from jewelry stores were also found during searches conducted at the suspects’ residences.
The PSP expressed confidence that this six-month investigation and the subsequent arrests have disrupted the criminal activities planned by this group targeting jewelry stores.
