Registrant detained in Nazar for trespassing and renting houses that do not belong to him

A man was arrested in Nazaré for fraud and trespassing on residential premises that were non-residential and which he rented for holidays as if they were his own, the GNR reported this Thursday.

The 30-year-old is suspected of committing 16 offenses of fraud, ten offenses of falsifying tenancy agreements, six offenses of damaging homes and six offenses of trespassing.

The suspect “took advantage of houses that were empty because they belonged to foreign owners or people who did not live in them, changed the locks and rented them out for vacations,” the commander of the Caldas da Rainha da territorial unit told Lusa. GNR news agency, João Marsal.

According to the commander, the man “advertised the houses through advertisements and even visited the place with those who wanted to rent it out and with whom he then entered into contracts as if the houses were his.”

In some cases, “there have been owners who have arrived at the houses and found them occupied by the people who were renting them,” he added.

The crimes took place from at least the summer of 2023 to March 2024 in the municipalities of Alcobaça, Caldas da Rainha, Óbidos and Peniche, the PNP said in a statement this Thursday.

As part of the investigation, which ended on Tuesday with the arrest of a suspect, the military carried out four searches: two houses and two in a car, in the municipalities of Porto de Mos and Nazaré.

As a result, two cars were confiscated; nine mobile phones for fraud-related offences; bank card; laptop computer and various tools used to commit crimes.

The detainee, who has a criminal record for crimes of fraud and forgery, will appear this Thursday at the Leiria Judicial Court.

The investigation was carried out by the Criminal Investigation Center (NIC) of Caldas da Rainha, with the support of soldiers from the Porto de Mos territorial post in carrying out searches.