Portuguese police seize 434 kg of cocaine and detain nine armed suspects in Caldas da Rainha

The operation

The Polícia Judiciária (PJ), acting through its National Unit for Combating Drug Trafficking (UNCTE), carried out an operation in Caldas da Rainha that led to the detention of nine suspects. The PJ described the group as an international and highly violent network that imported large quantities of cocaine into Europe. The operation was named Dorica. Authorities surrounded the suspects in several houses and vehicles that the scheme used.

How the network worked

According to the PJ, the cocaine came from Latin America and was brought into Portugal by sea aboard high-speed boats. The group had a logistics structure for receiving, storing and distributing the drug overland. The investigation ran for several months and relied on international police cooperation to map the network's circuits. Through the exchange of information with foreign partners, investigators tracked suspects who travelled to Portugal until the arrest of those the PJ called the main people responsible for importing the drug.

Weapons and seizures

The approach to the suspects was dangerous. Four AK-47 (Kalashnikov) rifles were seized, and the PJ said some suspects tried to use them against officers. In its own words, the PJ stated:

“Some of them held machine guns and tried to use them, failing only because of effective police action.”

Alongside the cocaine and rifles, police seized a large truck, a light passenger vehicle, communications equipment and image capture, transmission and recording systems (CCTV).

Cocaine (kg)434

AK-47 rifles4

Suspects detained9

Cocaine (kg)

434

AK-47 rifles

4

Suspects detained

9

Data from the article text

The suspects and next steps

All nine detainees are men aged between 24 and 50. They hold Albanian, Moroccan, Brazilian, Spanish, Italian and Lithuanian nationalities. The PJ said all of them were inside the houses and vehicles used in the operation when they were detained. They are due to appear before a judge on Thursday, 12 November, for a first judicial interrogation to decide on coercive measures. Investigations continue into possible ramifications of the network in Portugal and other European countries.