The Public Security Police (PSP) identified 25 individuals during an anti-drug trafficking and handling operation conducted on Tuesday, September 30, in central Lisbon.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the PSP reported that the operation took place between 11:30 am and 4:30 pm at Largo de São Domingos in the parish of Santa Maria Maior. It was part of “an ongoing effort to maintain good order and peaceful coexistence for all who circulate or visit this location, be they residents, workers, or tourists.”
A total of 25 individuals were identified by the PSP, one notification was issued concerning a judicial expulsion process for a foreign national, and a foreign individual was detained for disobeying an order to leave the country.
Approximately 20 notices were issued for various offenses, notably due to the lack of prior notification for street vending, selling tobacco without a stamp, lack of a taxi permit, and inadequate working conditions.
Regarding seizures, the PSP confiscated a bladed weapon, various items used for street vending, including perishable goods and clothing, and 12 doses of a substance suspected to be cocaine, which were found to be indeterminate after testing.
The PSP reported the operation involved various police units within the fields of Quick Intervention, Border and Foreign Control, Traffic, Criminal Investigation, among others, and collaborated with the Lisbon Municipal Police and the Santa Maria Maior Parish Council.
The operation followed “the collection of information provided by residents, passersby, and economic operators who frequent the area and have reported a security environment compromised by drug trafficking, the handling of stolen or robbed goods, and the illegal occupation of public space for other illicit activities such as street vending, leading to littering and pollution in the area due to this activity.”
In addition to the police operation, the Santa Maria Maior Parish Council collected and destroyed approximately 150 kg of abandoned objects considered urban waste, which result from illicit activities conducted in the area, contributing to its unsanitary conditions.
A source from the Public Security Police stated that the police operation is occurring “in all areas,” namely “drugs, weapons, foreigners, and street vending” following various reports in the area.
