If you have 52 Defendants, but there was a separation of procedural processes after appeals filed by the Public Ministry.
Twenty-four defendants, twenty-two people and two companies, of 52 contained in the preliminary decision in the process resulting from the largest operation ever carried out by the National Counterterrorism Unit (UNC) the Judicial Police (PJ) in combating human trafficking, will begin to be judged by a Panel of Judges at the Beja Court.
A dispatch from Helena Bellas, Criminal Investigation Judge (JIC) of the Cuban Court, responsible for the instructional debate and disseminating the Instructional Decision, determined the termination of the connection and the separation of the process relating to those defendants. Of the accused who go to trial, eight are in preventive detention and four under house arrest, all of Romanian nationality, there are still three more Romanians, five Moldovans, a Ukrainian and an Indian.
In relation to the remaining twenty-eight defendants, the Public Ministry appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal of Évora, which is why the delay in a deliberation by the TRE Judges, could lead to pre-trial detention deadlines being exceeded and defendants being released.
In the document that the Lidador News (LN) We had access, dated last day 3 June, the judge argues that allowing the final decision to be announced regarding the possible subjection of the other accused to trial, would result in a postponement of criminal protection for those who are imprisoned.
As a result of the Instructive Decision, with the exception of three defendants, the remaining, individual or legal persons, all the rest are accused of a crime of criminal association, there are then different types of crimes, like human trafficking, money laundering, possession of a prohibited weapon and minor drug trafficking, being judged in an independent process.
In the mega operation carried out by UNC-PJ on the day 23 November 2022, around four hundred inspectors participated, in an investigation supervised by the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) Lisbon, and led on the ground by judge Carlos Alexandre.
The PJ complied with 65 home and non-home search warrants, which led to the arrest, in the districts of Beja, Cuba, Serpa and Ferreira do Alentejo, outside of a flagrant crime 35 men and women, aged between 22 and 58 years, twenty-nine of foreign nationality and six Portuguese.
The network exploited more than six dozen victims from Romania, Moldavia. India, Senegal, Pakistan, Morocco, Algeria, among others, who were enticed to work in agriculture in the Beja district and ended up being victims of unscrupulous people.
The trial is scheduled to begin the next day 18 November and given the large number of defendants and lawyers, the same will take place in the Noble Hall of the former Civil Government, where the Municipal Assembly of Beja works.
“Operation Mirror”
One year later, UNC-PJ carried out another action to combat human trafficking, which was given the name “Operation Mirror”, given that the contours are the same as those developed in 2022.
The process that has 33 Defendants, 24 people and 9 companies and the group is accused of committing 21 crimes, particularly human trafficking, criminal association, illegal immigration aid association, recruitment of illegal labor, possession of a prohibited weapon and document forgery.
Five men and two women, six Romanians and one Portuguese, were subject to the most severe measure, the men being imprisoned in the Prison Establishment (EP) by Beja and the women in Odemira's EP.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
