Six pickpockets were arrested in Lisbon within just 24 hours, during two separate incidents. The Public Security Police (PSP) described the events in a statement.
On July 14, the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the Public Security Police, through the Criminal Investigation Division, “arrested four female pickpockets, aged between 27 and 36, on suspicion of theft.” The victim was an American tourist visiting the Baixa Pombalina area.
“This group, which recently arrived in Lisbon and was already under surveillance for being suspected of coming to Portugal solely to commit thefts, was located by investigators wandering the Baixa Pombalina, a popular tourist area in Lisbon,” explained the Public Security Police in the statement.
The group “operated in a coordinated manner,” targeting primarily tourists who were leisurely strolling through Lisbon, following them and then cleverly stealing their belongings.
The Criminal Investigation Division team, specialized in these itinerant crimes, “tracked, followed, and consequently detained the four suspects on Rua Augusta at around 4:30 PM after they had stolen from an American tourist’s backpack—a purse containing a Louis Vuitton wallet, 500 euros, 458 US dollars, credit cards, and all her documents.”
All belongings were recovered and returned to the rightful owner.
The second incident took place in Belém.
On the following day, July 15, at around 12:40 PM, the PSP “arrested two women, aged 27 and 33, suspected of attempted robbery.”
The suspects were “known to investigators, at least since 2018, for traveling to Portugal to commit thefts. They were observed following various tourist groups between Praça do Império and the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, opening some backpacks and bags without taking anything,” detailed the authority.
“In the tunnel between Praça do Império and the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, at the entrance of the stairs, they selected an Asian-looking woman as their victim and followed her through the access tunnel to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos.”
How did they commit the crime? The PSP explained: “As the victim was climbing the stairs with her husband, the suspects leaned against her back, one opened the zipper of the crossbody bag she was carrying and rummaged through it, while the other stayed by her side to conceal the action and keep watch.”
The victim “realized someone was rummaging through her bag, got scared, and when she pulled it to check, there was a strong tug on the bag causing her to lose her balance,” at which point “her husband intervened, pulling the bag strongly enough for the suspect to release it, thus preventing the robbery without anything being stolen.”
The victim’s crossbody bag contained a green wallet with documents valued at 60 euros, 210 euros in cash, and an iPhone 15 Pro Max valued at 1,200 euros.
As the Police witnessed the events and the victim wished to press charges against the suspects, “both pickpockets were intercepted and arrested by officers from this Criminal Investigation Division Brigade.”
The arrested women were taken to detention facilities to be presented before the competent judicial authority for coercion measures and were scheduled for trial at a later date.
