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At issue are crimes of human trafficking, aiding illegal immigration and tax fraud. Immigrants were brought illegally and subjected to inhumane conditions of exploitation.
Ten soldiers from the GNR and one member of the PSP were arrested today in an operation by the Judiciary Police (PJ) that dismantled a criminal organization of aid to illegal immigration in Portugal, which controlled hundreds of workers.
The PJ indicated that the operation carried out around 50 search warrants and 17 arrest warrants, in Beja, Portalegre, Figueira da Foz and Porto, and is currently under investigation crimes of aiding illegal immigrationforgery, tax fraud and money laundering.
The operation, through the National Counter Terrorism Unit (UNCT), was carried out within the scope of an investigation carried out by the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP). The action, led by the Counterterrorism Unit with the support of various PJ branches, mobilized around two hundred inspectors in multiple parts of the country.
At issue, according to the Judiciary, is a criminal organization that controlled hundreds of foreign workers, the majority of whom were in an irregular situation in Portugal. The network was dedicated to violent exploitation of Indian immigrants on agricultural properties in the Beja area.
The epicenter of the investigation is located in the parish of Cabeça Gorda, where, according to , workers were subjected to conditions of modern slaveryforced to exhaustive journeys from sunrise to sunset and kept in a climate of terror. The detained soldiers, in addition to their official duties, would act as foremen for the organization in their spare time, ensuring surveillance, discipline and coercion of the victims.
The network operated through temporary employment companies purposefully created to recruit vulnerable migrants, abusively charging them for room and board, and keeping them under threat of physical assault or deportation.
According to researchers, the income generated by labor exploitation was high and never declaredbeing recycled through illicit financial schemes.
The victims, often undocumented, lived in subhuman conditions and under constant surveillance by members of the security forces involved in the scheme. His irregular situation was used as a blackmail weapon to ensure obedience and prevent escapes or reports.
The PJ also indicates that suspects from the police forces would have an active role in facilitating the organization’s operations, contributing to its protection and continuity.
The approximately 20 detainees will now be brought before the Public Prosecutor’s Office and later before the court, where they will be subject to coercive measures.
