The Home Secretary said this Wednesday that “several investigations are underway” and that the Department of Public Administration should determine “the timing and order of investigations” related to the labor exploitation of immigrants in illegal shellfishing.
“There have been several investigations over the past few years. Several investigations are currently underway,” José Luis Carneiro told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to the Centro de Meios Aéreos de Évora, stressing that “it is the prosecutor’s office that determines the timing and order of the investigation,” which “consists of judicial secrecy.”
José Luis Carneiro was asked about the “several warnings” issued by the Alcochete city council regarding the “alarming situation” that are “stretching in time”.
Four people were arrested this Wednesday in an NCIS operation to crack down on criminal networks linked to the illegal catching, trading and international trade of bivalve mollusks that identified 243 immigrants, according to a memo from the National Maritime Administration.
The operation at the national level was also aimed at combating the exploitation of human labor.
A source from the Aliens and Border Guard Service who accompanied the operation told Lusa this Wednesday morning that a mega anti-trafficking operation led by the maritime police is taking place in the Samouco region, in the municipality of Alcochete.
According to the Minister of the Interior, “other operations will be carried out” and “whenever there is behavior, attitudes, practices that are considered illegal, naturally, various forces and services act in coordination and under the direction of the state ministry.”
Alcochete Mayor Fernando Pinto said in statements to Lusa today that he is not surprised by the municipality’s mega-operation to combat human trafficking in illegal shellfish harvesting and has defended a nationwide coordinating team to combat the problem.
The socialist mayor stressed that he was not moved against the shellfish collectors, who in many cases make the illegal collection of shellfish at the mouth of the Tagus their livelihood, but acknowledged the need to “create conditions so that this activity ceases to be illegal.”
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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