Thirteen arrested including Ministry of Foreign Affairs employee
Portugal’s PJ Judicial Police have announced today the dismantlement of an alleged organised criminal group dedicated to the repeated practice of crimes of aiding illegal immigration, corruption, money laundering and document forgery.
In a statement sent to state news agency Lusa, the criminal police force reported that it has arrested 13 people – seven men and six women – including seven businessmen, a lawyer and an employee of the General Directorate of Consular Affairs and Portuguese Communities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
None of those arrested so far have “known criminal records” (suggesting some of them will be immigrants themselves). Their ages have been given as between 26 and 64.
In this operation – dubbed Gambérria – led by the central region’s directorate, 40 house and non-house searches were carried out in Coimbra, Espinho, Carregal do Sal, Amadora, Odivelas, Loures and Lisbon.
“The complex ongoing investigation, which began in September 2023, revealed that this criminal group has been dedicated to the irregular and massive legalisation of foreign citizens in Portugal, obtaining financial profits in the order of millions of euros,” says the PJ’s statement.
Immigrants paid “high amounts to obtain legal status in national territory” and were recruited by the group through complex schemes in their countries of origin, with the promise of providing a range of services.
The services included obtaining employment contracts, Tax Identification Number (NIF), Social Security Identification Number (NISS), SNS (National Health Service) User Number, translation and certification of criminal records, opening of bank accounts, certificates of residence, among others.
“Many of the immigrants legalised by this group, despite appearing to be working and residing in Portugal, are in fact in other countries in the European area,” adds the statement – underscoring the fact that Portugal is often ‘used’ as a doorway into Europe by immigrants who have no ultimate intention of staying here.
In the four dozen searches carried out, “an enormous” collection of documentation used in irregular legalisation processes for foreigners, computer equipment, 11 vehicles, some of which were high-powered, around one million euros in cash and two ivory elephant tusks weighing around 50 kilos were seized, said the statement, along with several items acquired with the proceeds of crime and items used to falsify documents – including a white seal found in a company where thousands of criminal record certificates of foreign citizens were supposed to be “validated”.
According to the PJ, the force’s Asset Recovery Office in the centre of the country has “proceeded to the seizure of six properties, two rustic buildings and four urban buildings (one house and three apartments)”. It has also frozen 35 bank accounts, two financial products from the gaming company Betano and a crypto account from Binance.
Around 200 members of the PJ, two judges, a public prosecutor and representatives of the Bar Association participated in this operation.
As for the meaning of the word Gambérria, it is “an informal Portuguese word that can have several meanings, including a nasty kick in the back of the leg to bring someone down. In this context, it suggests the new determination to clear the country of immigrants who arrived under false pretences is part of a tentacular strategy. ND
source material: LUSA
