António Pedro Santos / Lusa
Diploma promulgated by the President of the Republic regulates the use of speedboats to combat drug trafficking.
The President of the Republic today promulgated the diploma that regulates the use of speedboats to combat drug traffickingone day after a GNR soldier chased one of these vessels.
“The President of the Republic promulgated the diploma of the Assembly of the Republic that authorizes the Government to establish the regime applicable to high-speed vessels and establish the respective sanctioning regime”, says the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic.
On Monday night, a patrol from Olhão Coastal Control was sent to the Guadiana river after a speedboat was detected, having been rammed when trying to board the vessel. One GNR agent died and three others were injured.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also regretted this outcome, expressing his regret at the death in service of Corporal Pedro Manata e Silva, belonging to the Coastal and Border Control Unit of the National Republican Guard (GNR).
“President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has already personally offered his most heartfelt condolences to his wife, children and other bereaved family, as well as expressing them to all his friends and the GNR itself, at this particularly difficult time for all its military and civilians”, we read in .
After the collision, the high-speed boat was found burn approximately four kilometers from the place where the accident occurred off Alcoutim, in the district of Faro, but the occupants had already fled.
The authorities admit that it was just another case of drug traffickinga problem that has been gaining dimension in the country and which led the Government to create new legislation, since the current regime dated back to 1990 and only stipulated rules for the circulation of boats.
The diploma promulgated today by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was approved at the end of last month in parliament and provides for a criminal framework of one to four years in prison to “whoever transports, imports or exports” speedboats or “enters or leaves the national territory” without authorization from the Tax and Customs Authority.
Furthermore, construction or modification projects for high-speed vessels (EAV) must be submitted to the General Directorate of Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services.
Anyone who fails to do so risks a prison sentence of up to two years, as do crew members who carry more fuel on an EAV than permitted or use mechanisms – such as paint or electronic equipment – to prevent the vessels from appearing on radars.
As bribes They are now increased up to a maximum of 25 thousand euros for individuals and up to 100 thousand euros for legal entities.
In the debate in the Assembly of the Republic, the Minister of Justice warned of the trend of changing drug trafficking routes to the Portuguese coast.
According to Rita Alarcão Júdice, Portugal has recorded, since 2020, “a significant increase in the detection and seizure of inflatable and semi-rigid high-speed boats” and the use of these speedboats by criminal drug trafficking organizations is increasingly common.
The proposed law to regulate the use of EAV was approved on August 7th by the Council of Ministers and later approved by the Assembly of the Republic, with the abstention of the PS, Livre, PCP and Bloco de Esquerda.
The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, defended on the day the diploma was approved by the Council of Ministers that “fast boats should not and do not have a place in Portugal as instruments of crime” and that the new regime should prevent this.
