Local politician furious about operation: “What happened yesterday is typical of an Islamic or Latin American dictatorship”
Two people were detained by PSP police in an operation in Martim Moniz, Lisbon, which resulted in the seizure of almost €4,000 in cash, sticks, documents, one bladed weapon and one mobile phone.
In a statement, the force’s Lisbon Metropolitan Command (COMETLIS) explains that a special crime prevention operation that took place on Thursday in the parish of Santa Maria Maior, in Lisbon, resulted in the detention of two people: one for possession of a prohibited weapon and drugs and another who was suspected of at least eight offences of theft.
In the statement, released on Thursday night, the PSP said it had seized €435 in cash that was suspected of having come from illegal activities; seven batons (made of wood and iron); 17 envelopes containing passport photos suspected of being used in illegal activities; €3,435 in cash, a passport and various documents suspected of aiding illegal immigration; 581.37 grams of drugs suspected of being hashish; one bladed weapon; and a mobile phone that had been stolen.
The PSP adds that the operation took place in Rua do Benformoso, in an area “where disorderly situations involving bladed weapons and other incidents related to offences against physical integrity frequently occur.”
The police operation was accompanied by a public prosecutor; six search warrants for non-residential premises were served.
“The PSP remains committed to the safety and protection of all citizens, continuing to promote the safety of the Portuguese, those who have chosen Portugal to live in and those who visit us,” the statement adds.
In a previous statement, the PSP said that in this operation, which resulted in the closure of Rua do Benformoso, some of which were broadcast on television, around 100 counterfeit items were also seized.
Photos of large numbers of police in the area made it onto social media, showing dozens of people lined up against the wall in Rua do Benformoso, with their hands up, to be searched by the police, prompting comments about whether such a procedure was really necessary.
When COMETLIS spokeswoman Ana Raquel Ricardo was asked about the issue, she explained that a “special crime prevention operation gives us the legitimacy to carry out other types of measures, namely searching citizens who are there and searching vehicles” travelling through the area.
The same official said that the contingent employed “was what was necessary” for an operation of this type, without, however, revealing the number of professionals involved.
According to the PSP, resources from the Rapid Intervention Teams (EIR), the Prevention and Immediate Reaction Teams, traffic and civil – criminal investigation and inspection – took part in the operation.
In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon publicising the operation, COMETLIS said that the aim of the operation in the parish of Santa Maria Maior was to “boost the safety and public tranquillity of the resident and floating population” and that it took place in the Praça do Martim Moniz area, “an area where incidents involving weapons are frequently recorded.”
The aim of the operation, according to the PSP, was “to arrest people suspected of committing crimes of illegal possession of weapons and to seize weapons that may be found inside suspects’ vehicles and to increase the sense of security of people who habitually use public transport, the spaces that give access to them, as well as the surrounding areas, by monitoring suspicious users of public transport.”
It also focused on “places considered and assessed to be of greater risk, such as cafés, associations, among others in the area, taking into account the collection of information during the planning and execution phase of the operations.”
The operation took place in coordination with the Unit Against Especially Violent Crime (UECCEV) of the Lisbon Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP).
However, the president of Lisbon’s Santa Maria Maior parish council said on Friday that the minister for internal affairs is not fit to remain in office following Thursday’s “unacceptable” police operation in Martim Moniz.
“What happened yesterday is typical of an Islamic or Latin American dictatorship […]. I think, as a citizen and as a mayor, there are no conditions for the internal affairs minister to continue, and the police commanders have to explain why they closed off an entire street and put people up against the wall. Would they be able to do this in Campo de Ourique, in Avenidas Novas, in Lumiar?” he asked.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, Miguel Coelho (PS) said he was going to Rua do Benformoso today, next to Martim Moniz square, in the parish he manages: “Someone has to apologise to these people and, since the president of Portugal isn’t going, I’m going.”
He added how the operation was carried out “creates a perception that insecurity and danger are in a community”.
“This is going to foment hatred and racism, and it’s not going to solve anything. It was an unbelievable “show off” on the part of the police commandos,” he emphasised.
The Santa Maria Maior parish council president was “deeply indignant” in the context of a “consolidated democratic rule of law” and in a territory for which he is responsible, pointing out that he was unaware that such a large-scale operation was planned.
“I wasn’t aware of it, and perhaps I didn’t have to be. The police don’t talk to local mayors. The police are completely oblivious and arrogant. I’m in favour of a police force with authority, protected by law from insults and aggression, and that earns better money. I have deep respect for the role of the police, but I want a police force that respects the Constitution and is purged of racist movements,” he said.
Miguel Coelho regretted that “it is now fashionable to target the immigrant population from the Indian subcontinent”, something he considers “wrong” because “they are mostly peaceful people”.
“They are people who bring food to our homes. They are people who are in the fields picking the fruit we eat. They are the people who are making all the companies fat, who businessmen exploit, and they are humble people. It’s not because of them that I feel insecure. Some of them work for the council in urban hygiene,” he concluded.
PM defends operation
Portugal’s prime minister Luís Montenegro considered that the PSP operation in Martim Moniz, Lisbon, was “very important” for creating “visibility and proximity” in policing and for increasing the feeling of tranquillity among Portuguese citizens.
“One thing seems obvious to me, it’s very important that operations like this take place, so that there is visibility and proximity in policing and policing illicit activities,” Montenegro argued at a news conference in the Belgian capital, where he was taking part in a European Council meeting.
The prime minister argued that preventive police operations “have a dual intent” – namely to increase “the tranquillity of citizens, on the one hand”, and to combat “criminal behaviour” in society.
However, on Thursday, the Left Bloc (BE), Communist Party (PCP) and Livre parties called for the minister of internal administration, Margarida Blasco, to be heard in parliament to clarify the police operation, considering it “inadequate, disproportionate and likely to create alarm in society.”
Source: LUSA
