Testimony at the São João Novo Court outlined that suspicions of an illicit ticket selling operation predated the searches conducted in January 2024.
“We seized the mobile phone and 104 tickets from FC Porto. Of these, 87 were for the Arsenal match [on February 21, 2024], 10 were for the hockey game against Benfica, six for the volleyball game with Leixões, which had already taken place, and one for the match against Sporting de Braga on January 14,” stated the witness.
The search, conducted with the cooperation of a well-known FC Porto supporter who allowed authorities into his home, also resulted in the seizure of his mobile phone.
“What caught my attention was that the tickets were nominal, issued in the names of members. I suppose they belonged to someone with a season ticket,” the witness added.
The Public Security Police officer who carried out the search at the home of Fernando Saul, former Fan Liaison Officer for FC Porto and stadium announcer at Estádio do Dragão, also provided testimony during the session.
Mirroring the testimonies related to Fernando and Sandra Madureira earlier in the day, the officer revealed the discovery of money during the search at the former employee of the ‘blues and whites,’ along with a computer and a mobile phone.
“Fernando Saul opened the door for us. We seized a mobile phone and a computer that was on the bedside table in the bedroom. In the car, we seized 2,940 euros, which were in the console. […] There was a bundle of notes,” described the officer.
Before the session concluded, a police officer responsible for the home search of Carlos Nunes (‘Jamaica’) testified that narcotics were seized along with a jacket “referenced as worn [by ‘Jamaica’] at the General Assembly.”
The trial will resume on Tuesday, a date originally planned for the conclusion of the prosecution’s witness hearings, as delays have now exceeded 30 sessions.
The 12 defendants in Operation Praetorian, including the former leader of the Super Dragões, Fernando Madureira, began facing charges in court on March 17 at the Tribunal de São João Novo in Porto, amidst heightened police presence in the vicinity.
The charges include 19 counts of aggravated coercion and threats, seven of physical assault in a sports context, one of public incitement to a crime, another of throwing objects or liquids, and three of infringing on the freedom of information, all pertaining to an FC Porto General Assembly in November 2023.
Among the dozen defendants, Fernando Madureira is the only one held in preventive detention, the harshest coercive measure, while the others have been released at various stages.
