PJ police take part in Europe-wide swoop
Fifteen people have been arrested in a Europe-wide operation targeting an Israeli criminal group, which may well have operated in Portugal.
PJ police were among entities taking part in the Europol swoop led by authorities in Belgium, and dubbed Operation Ozark (Ozark being a popular Netflix series about money-laundering/ drug running), albeit none of the arrests were made on Portuguese soil.
Reports today however suggest the group itself “may have operated in Portugal”.
Its operation involved producing and importing luxury watches and counterfeit diamonds in Antwerp, Belgium.
A statement by the PJ to SIC Notícias today, explains the arrests – made in Belgium (11 suspects), Israel (2), Holland (1) and the Slovak Republic (also 1) followed 26 searches which resulted in the seizure of diamonds, jewellery, watches and luxury vehicles, various electronic devices, credit cards, money and documentation.
Portuguese authorities were called in because the detainees, as well as trafficking cocaine and synthetic drugs, “were ‘laundering money’ through complex schemes, including cryptocurrencies, illegal banking systems and real estate re-investments, and it is suspected that this activity may also have taken place in Portugal”, said the statement.
According to the PJ, the criminal group “manufactured fake luxury watches outside the European Union, mixing original parts with fake components. Once produced, they imported the watches into Belgium and introduced diamonds and counterfeit watches onto the market.”
In the statement, authorities make the point that these activities are not only criminal, but also “jeopardise the reputation of Antwerp’s so-called ‘Diamond District’, where a unique certification is applied to these luxury items”.
Operation Ozark was supported by the @ON Network, financed by the European Commission and led by the Italian Anti-mafia Investigation Directorate (DIA).
Source material: SIC Notícias
