Residents of the neighborhoods of Pastellaira and Pinheiro Torres assured this Thursday that the area of Porto has “become unsustainable” due to drug consumption and drug trafficking and urged the government to take action to stop this phenomenon.
“Human trafficking goes unpunished. Nothing is being done. There is no desire to end human trafficking,” Cristina Costa Reis, a spokesperson for residents of Avenida Mareschal Gomes da Costa, told reporters.
After meeting with the mayor of Porto, the resident stressed that the problems in the area have been exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic, which is reflected in an increase in the number of robbed vehicles in which drug addicts often “stop overnight,” he said.
“Our zone has become unsustainable,” Christina said, adding that residents feel “abandoned” by the authorities as well as the state.
Like Cristina, Rui Carrapa of the association Jardim do Fluvial Sem Drogas stressed that “for more than four years” he has been dealing with drug use on a daily basis, a phenomenon that he says has “degraded” in this regard. an area close to the Pasteleira and Pinheiro Torres areas.
Stressing that the solution to curb this phenomenon is linked to increased security, Rui Carrapa said, however, that the situation “is unlikely to be resolved without the criminalization of consumption in public places.”
“The prime minister definitely would not want to leave the house for someone to prick his neck at the door,” he said, calling for more active actions by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.
Manuel Gerikota of the Condominhas Residents’ Association also argued for the need for a “response” from the state to stop the phenomenon, which he said “didn’t exist”.
“The state is not responding,” said a resident, referring both to the situation of residents and drug addicts.
To reporters, the mayor of Porto this Thursday urged the Minister of the Interior to take on the “skills” to deal with the problem of drug consumption and drug trafficking in the city and “not to hide this matter under the rug.”
“It’s easy for me if the Minister of the Interior has a magic wand to solve a problem, let him decide, because it is his competence. We will do what we can,” Rui Moreira said.
In a letter sent on January 26 to the Minister of Defense, to which Lusa had access, Rui Moreira asked the Ministry of Defense to take action to address the “serious security problem” of the Military Services Headquarters and the House of Supervision, haunted places. drug addicts.
“The truth is that the climate of insecurity in the area is getting worse,” Rui Moreira said, adding that the vacant buildings “have been occupied by drug addicts” and more recently “with urgency after recent police action.” intervention to dismantle drug trafficking camps in the Pastelleira area”.
“This is a hotbed of unhealthy conditions that threatens the safety of people and property, including a fire hazard,” he said.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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