A contact from the National Directorate of the Public Security Police (PSP) explained that the officer was “serving in the Beja District Command” but was “not currently working.”
“He has been on sick leave since September 2024,” the source added.
In a statement, the Judiciary Police (PJ) announced today the dismantling of a criminal organization aiding illegal immigration, which controlled hundreds of foreign workers, most of whom were in an irregular situation in Portugal.
The operation resulted in 17 arrests, including 10 GNR military personnel, one PSP officer, and six civilians. It was conducted by the PJ’s National Counterterrorism Unit (UNCT) under an investigation led by the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DCIAP).
In total, according to the PJ, around 50 search warrants and 17 arrest warrants were executed, not only in Beja but also in Portalegre, Figueira da Foz, and Porto.
A police source indicated that the 10 GNR military personnel detained belong to the GNR’s Beja Territorial Command.
In a statement posted on the DCIAP’s website, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) stated that the 17 detainees are suspected of exploiting the victims’ vulnerability to “obtain substantial economic gains.”
“The investigation focuses on activities carried out by the suspects who took advantage of the fragile (documentary, social, and economic) situation of citizens from third countries, mostly undocumented, to secure substantial economic benefits,” it read.
The facts under investigation, according to the MP, could constitute crimes of aiding illegal immigration, human trafficking, active and passive corruption, and abuse of power.
The PJ, in the same statement, noted that crimes of aiding illegal immigration, forgery, tax fraud, and money laundering are being investigated.
The immigrants, according to the MP, “were willing to work without a formal contract” and received “wages lower than the market rate for their roles” in “labor-intensive sectors such as agriculture.”
“The suspects did not pay them the promised amounts, deducting arbitrarily imposed sums for accommodation, transportation, water, electricity, and documentation,” it highlighted.
Noting that the suspects include security force members, the MP emphasized that these individuals, “in exchange for economic compensation, outside their professional duties and breaching the obligations imposed by their public functions,” exercised “control and surveillance over the foreign workers.”
“These suspects also threatened those citizens, implying that lodging complaints with the authorities was not a viable option for reacting to the abuses they suffered,” it underlined.
A police source stated that, following the operation, interrogations are taking place at Beja Air Base No. 11.
