The absence of one defendant, due to logistical issues at the Lisbon Prison Establishment (EPL), sparked criticism from the public prosecutor and defense lawyers. The president of the collective court deemed the incident “unacceptable,” holding the prison director responsible.
Out of the 10 defendants (nine men and one company), seven are in pre-trial detention.
The presiding judge explained that “trial dates were set several months ago,” with notifications sent to defendants and their lawyers. The presence of those in preventive custody was requested without any prior indication of unavailability.
“[The defendants] have been in custody for over a year,” stated the judge, highlighting that the proceedings are considered “of special complexity” involving substantial human and security resources.
The judge added that it is “incomprehensible” that only today, “about 15 minutes before the scheduled time” for the trial’s start and “only after persistent inquiries” to the EPL, a brief email was received citing human and logistical constraints for the inmates’ attendance.
The judge ordered an official inquiry to the EPL director about “the actual reasons” for the failure to bring the defendant to the Judicial Court of Leiria, and informed the General Directorate of Reinsertion and Prison Services of the incident, requesting their “good offices for the transport of the defendant” on the next scheduled date, October 10.
According to the prosecution and indictment orders, the nine men, aged between 27 and 63, are charged with co-authoring aggravated drug trafficking and other illicit activities, along with a charge of criminal association.
Two defendants also face charges of possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition, while another is charged with falsification of an authentic document. The company, based in Torres Vedras (Lisbon), is on trial for aggravated drug trafficking.
The indictment states that since at least February 2024, the defendants decided to form a group, led by two of them, to engage in the purchase and introduction of cocaine into Portugal.
The cocaine was allegedly transported by sea in containers from South America and then overland to other European countries, who would “acquire it themselves or through intermediaries, from individuals of unidentified identity and at an unspecified price,” aiming for “very large economic gains,” according to the Public Ministry (MP) order.
This group included seven other defendants, with activities “carried out by all, in shared efforts, division of tasks, and according to the directions given” by the group’s leaders.
The MP reported that the group opted to purchase cocaine from Ecuador “packaged and mixed in pallets containing boxes of frozen fish (frozen squid),” destined for a warehouse of a company in Óbidos (Leiria).
Once the drugs entered Portugal via the port of Lisbon and reached the Óbidos warehouse mixed among pallets with boxes of frozen squids, at least seven suspects ensured its removal and subsequent distribution across the country and Europe, “specifically to the Netherlands and with links to Turkey.”
A forensic analysis revealed that the seized cocaine weighed approximately 1,144 kilograms, with an estimated value of around 34.5 million euros, “excluding possible product cuts, which would double or triple the value,” stated the MP.
