Three teenagers reported missing in Germany were located by the GNR in Pombal, after officers intercepted a vehicle with false number plates.
The driver, an 18-year-old Portuguese national, was in possession of 360 doses of amphetamines, did not have a valid driving licence and is suspected of several thefts, said the GNR in a press statement.
The driver was arrested and was due to appear before a judge today for an initial hearing.
In a statement, the Leiria Territorial Command of the GNR explained that during the operation on Monday, November 4, when the vehicle was intercepted, “it was possible to ascertain that, inside, there were two minors, a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, residing in Germany and reported missing on the Schengen Information System”.
After searching the vehicle and checking the driver and occupants, the GNR reported that the driver was in possession of 360 doses of amphetamines, did not have a legal driving licence and was suspected of stealing other vehicles and coin machines from commercial establishments in the district of Leiria, for which he was arrested.
In addition to the drugs, the GNR seized the vehicle and two keys belonging to vehicles stolen last week in Leiria and Pombal.
A source from the GNR explained to Lusa news agency that the driver of the vehicle is Portuguese and the brother of the 15-year-old girl who was travelling in the car and reported missing in Germany. She has been handed over to relatives living in Portugal.
The other minor, a 13-year-old German boy, has no family connection to those involved and is waiting in a temporary institution until procedures for returning to his country of origin are completed.
The two teens had been reported missing for about a week, the GNR source revealed.
During the police investigation, three other people, all German, were also located and identified in Castelo Branco: a 17-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl, also reported missing, and a 39-year-old man. The GNR revealed that it was the occupants of the car who disclosed details about these three people “who used to hang out with them”.
The 17-year-old girl had been reported missing for about two weeks and is also waiting in an institution to return to her country.
“What exactly they were doing (in Portugal) is still to be determined, but it is believed that, in order to survive, they may have been involved in some thefts,” said the GNR source, adding that the investigation will continue.
The 18-year-old Portuguese detainee, suspected of drug trafficking, driving without a licence and vehicle theft, will appear before a court this Wednesday for his first judicial interrogation at the Leiria Judicial Court.
Source: Lusa
