The illegal immigration network that the PJ has been dismantling charged between 15 and 20 thousand euros for each immigrant. The highest prices were charged to those coming from Bangladesh and Nepal.
Anyone arriving from Bangladesh or Nepal would pay between 15,000 and 20,000 euros to the criminal network. The amount was used to purchase a set of documents that accelerated the legalization process in Portugal, according to information collected by the.
The “legalization packages” included employment contracts, tax identification number, NIF, Social Security identification number, National Health Service user number and the European Health Card.
They would still be assured translation work and certification of criminal records, opening bank accounts, residence certificates and other services.
The criminal network that attracted immigrants, consistently for three years, has been dismantled by the Judiciary Police.
Immigrants paid with wages obtained in Portugal
One of the group’s cells, in Coimbra, will have managed to legalize 18 thousand immigrants through the fraudulent attribution of the NIF.
Official PJ source confirmed to Expresso that these illegal services they were more expensive for immigrants from Bangladesh and Nepal. The higher price would be justified by the distance, language and cultural barriers and the fact that these nationalities have greater difficulty in obtaining tourist visas.
The prices charged by the network were lower, around half, for Brazilian and African immigrants.
In most cases, those recruited were owed and paid later with the salary obtained in Portugal.
The dismantling of the criminal network, which the PJ calls Operation Gambérria, has already led to the arrest of 16 people, another 26 were accused.
The judiciary seized more than one million euros in cash and froze several bank accounts.
This week, two workers at a health center in the municipality of Ovar were arrested and suspended from their duties.
They are suspected of, in collaboration with the network, having fraudulently assigned the user number to more than 10 thousand immigrants. At issue will be crimes of passive corruption, association to aid illegal immigration and computer fraud.
The network, which includes Portuguese and foreign citizens, was led by a man who lived in Lisbon.
When he was detained, the PJ found a weapon, ballistic vests, metal detectors and sophisticated computer equipment.
The PJ has not yet defined exactly the total money raised by the suspects, nor the number of immigrants recruited in these three years.
And he even admits that Most of them are no longer in national territory.
