The criminal organization dismantled on Tuesday, November 25th, in the “Safra Justa” operation by the Judiciary Police (PJ) controlled around 500 foreign workers in Alentejo, but not all of them are considered victims of trafficking, a police source revealed this Wednesday, 26th.
The police source contacted by the Lusa agency explained that “around 500 foreign workers, but not all of them necessarily victims of trafficking, were under the control of this criminal organization”.
The alleged crimes under investigation date from 2023 to the present and, following the police operation carried out on Tuesday, victims are being interviewed for future memory at the facilities of Air Base No. 11 in Beja (BA11), he indicated.
“But, over the years, other victims have been heard”, added the source.
On Tuesday, in a statement, the PJ announced that it had developed the “Safra Justa” operation, which made it possible to dismantle a criminal organization to aid illegal immigration that controlled hundreds of foreign workers, the majority of whom were in an irregular situation in Portugal.
In total, 17 people were detained, including 11 members of the security forces – 10 GNR soldiers and one member of the PSP – and six civilians, between 26 and 60 years old.
The detainees will begin to be present today, from 2pm, at the Central Criminal Instruction Court (TCIC), in Lisbon, for the first judicial interrogation and application of the respective coercive measures, the police source revealed to Lusa.