Portugal law enforcement targets bank fraud and drug mimics

In Portugal, law enforcement agencies are addressing various criminal activities. The Polícia Judiciária arrested five women as part of Operation LOGIN, targeting a network that misappropriated approximately 110,000 euros from 13 bank clients using money mules. The scheme involved a bank employee accessing digital accounts without consent to transfer funds.

Separately, the Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP) is advocating for the criminalization of selling pressed bay leaf (louro prensado) as a substitute for narcotics. The agency argues that the current legal vacuum hinders police action against this long-standing phenomenon, which is prevalent in tourist-heavy areas like Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve. This push follows an incident in Lisbon where a tourist was struck by a stray bullet during a confrontation involving sellers of the substance.

Other reported incidents in Portugal include a 20-year-old man shot in the legs during a disturbance in Amadora and the arrest of three men in Famalicão for using a firearm to rob an elderly poultry farmer of 2,600 euros.