Dozens of people were pressed against the wall, this Thursday, in broad daylight, in Martim Moniz, in a police action ordered by the Government. Two people were arrested.
In a statement, released at the end of the day this Thursday, the PSP’s Lisbon Metropolitan Command (COMETLIS) clarified that a special crime prevention operation in the parish of Santa Maria Maior, in Lisbon, resulted in the detention of two people: one for possession of a prohibited weapon and drugs and another who was suspected of at least eight crimes of robbery.
In the note, released on Thursday night, the PSP says it seized 435 euros in cash, suspected of coming from illicit activities, seven sticks (wooden and iron), 17 envelopes with passport photos suspected of being for use in activities illicit activities, 3,435 euros in cash, a passport and several documents for suspected of aiding illegal immigration581.37 grams of drugs suspected to be hashish, a sharp weapon and a cell phone that was reported stolen. Six non-domestic search warrants were also executed.
In information provided previously, the PSP had said that in this operation, which closed Rua do Benformoso, as was visible in images collected at the scene, some of which were broadcast on television, around 100 counterfeit items were also seized.
This operation – which, according to the Prime Minister Luis Montenegrohe was government commissioned to give visibility to the work of the PSP and increase the feeling of tranquility of Portuguese citizens – was accompanied by a public prosecutor.
“There is one thing that seems obvious to me, it is very important that operations like this occur, so that there is visibility and proximity in the policing and taxation of illicit activities”, highlighted Luís Montenegro, at a press conference in Brussels, capital of Belgium.
“The Government assumed this priority and gave this guidance. It involves more visibility, more proximity and more cooperation between the different entities, highlighted the prime minister.
The huge police apparatus in the area led to the circulation of images on social media, in which, on Rua do Benformoso, dozens of people can be seen leaning against the wall, with their hands up, to be searched by the police, and comments about the need of that procedure.
Martim Moniz, 50 years after April 25th.
The country regresses instead of advancing. How embarrassing. What a disappointment. What a heartache.— Compulsive Reader (@LeitoraCompuls2)
When asked the COMETLIS spokesperson, deputy commissioner Ana Raquel Ricardo, about this issue, she explained that a “special crime prevention operation gives legitimacy to carry out other types of diligencenamely the search of citizens who are at the location and the search of vehicles” that circulate there.
The same person in charge said that the contingent employed “was what was necessary” for an operation of this type, without, however, revealing the number of professionals involved.
In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon announcing the operation, COMETLIS said that the operation in the parish of Santa Maria Maior aimed to “enhance public safety and tranquility of the population resident and floating” and which took place in the Praça do Martim Moniz area, “an area where incidents involving weapons are frequently recorded”.
The objective of the operation, according to the PSP, was “to detain suspects of crimes of illegal possession of weapons and to seize weapons that may be found inside suspects’ vehicles and increase the feeling of security of people who habitually use public transport, spaces that give access to these, as well as in adjacent areas, monitoring suspicious users of public transport”.
It also focused on “locations considered and assessed to be at higher risk, such as cafes, associations, among others existing in the locations, considering the collection of information in the planning and execution phase of operations”.
