At Fonte Boa, GNR officers detained a 41-year-old man on the night of 21 October, around 23:45, and seized two loaded Kalashnikov rifles with two magazines. At least three suspects fled on foot.
The GNR's communique put the total at about 10,000 litres in 420 jerricans. Esposende accounted for about 1,500 litres, Aveiras about 4,750 litres and Sagres about 3,750 litres.
Five of the six vehicles seized at Fonte Boa carried Spanish plates and one carried a Portuguese plate. Authorities have not said who was involved or whether a Galician group was behind them.
JN reports 57 bales of hashish seized by Spanish authorities with GNR help recovering 20 more from the water, while Público reports that 57 bales were recovered after the boat's occupants threw cargo overboard.
On the night of 21 October, at about 23:45, officers from the GNR's Braga Territorial Command spotted several suspicious vehicles at Fonte Boa, in the municipality of Esposende, where preparations appeared to be under way to launch a boat in support of drug trafficking. The officers detained a 41-year-old man and seized six vehicles, five with Spanish plates and one with a Portuguese plate, along with a boat, two marine engines, about 1,500 litres of fuel and two loaded Kalashnikov assault rifles with two magazines. At least three suspects escaped on foot, so the GNR deployed drones from the Emergency Protection and Rescue Unit (UEPS) to search the terrain. The investigation continues in coordination with the Judiciary Police (Polícia Judiciária). The site lies about 70 kilometres from the Galician border.
Around the same time, a vehicle carrying about 100 jerricans of fuel was intercepted at the Aveiras service area on the A1 motorway. Its driver, a 35-year-old Spanish citizen, was made a formal suspect (arguido) but was not detained, because Público reports that possessing fuel is not a crime in itself. Officers later found a second vehicle abandoned at Vala do Carregado, also loaded with fuel. Together the two vehicles held 190 jerricans with about 4,750 litres, which the GNR believes were meant for logistical support to maritime trafficking. The GNR has not said whether the Esposende and Aveiras operations were linked.
Farther south, at the Baleeira fishing port in Sagres, an individual was intercepted after the GNR received a tip about a suspected transfer of fuel from a van to a high-speed boat. About 3,750 litres of fuel in 150 jerricans were seized there, and JN reports that the fuel was meant to refuel that high-speed boat.
On the Guadiana river, which forms the border between the Algarve and Spain, reports differ on who recovered the hashish. JN says Spanish authorities seized 57 bales of hashish and that the GNR helped retrieve another 20 bales from the water. Público says Spanish authorities warned of a fast boat, that Portuguese and Spanish forces chased it, and that its occupants threw their cargo into the water, from which 57 bales were recovered. Both accounts place the operation in the early hours of 22 October.
In its communique, the GNR said the four operations led to the detention of one man aged 41, the formal suspect status of a 35-year-old Spanish citizen, and the interception of a 15-year-old minor. Across the operations, authorities seized nine vehicles, one boat with two engines, two Kalashnikov rifles and about 10,000 litres of fuel in 420 jerricans. The GNR said the coordinated patrols were intended to block logistical support points and landing sites for drug trafficking along the national coast.
The Spanish plates on five of the Esposende vehicles have raised the question of a possible link to Spain. Authorities have not yet said who the people involved were or whether the vehicles belonged to a criminal group based in Galicia. The investigation into the Esposende suspects who fled, and into the wider network, is still open.
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Four overnight operations along Portugal's coast, from Esposende to the Algarve, targeted support for maritime drug trafficking on 21 and 22 October. The largest single haul was at Fonte Boa in Esposende, where a 41-year-old man was detained and at least three suspects fled on foot.
AI text based on reports by JN, La Razón, europa press and other publishers. Published .