The National Republican Guard (GNR) found five “drones” that violated the rules as part of an operation to secure the international pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Fatima, without any theft, but with some restrictions on movement, as announced this Saturday.
“This year, 16 “drones” were identified that started flying or were flying (…), five of which were found to be violators, since the airspace was prohibited, removing the notice of an administrative offense. [e] will be reported to the competent administrative authority,” Captain Joao Lourenço, GNR public relations officer, told Lusa.
According to this official, the “drones” were seized from people who intended to deploy these drones without proper authorization.
The captain, who spoke to Lusa at 2:00 pm, noted that the safety device, installed on the occasion of the first major pilgrimage of the year to the Sanctuary of Fatima, ends on Sunday, but at that moment the balance is positive. .
“The operation is proceeding as expected,” he added, noting that on Friday “there was a large flow of people,” estimated at 220,000 people.
As for crime, the captain drew attention to the lack of records of thefts.
“An event of this nature, with such a large concentration of people, I highlight the fact that we have no record of theft,” the public relations officer said, arguing that “this is also the result of the work done” in the context of crime prevention.
On the other hand, he added that the GNR mentioned “only one false beggar” (there were 14 on the May pilgrimage last year), reaffirming its commitment to crime prevention, “one of the main goals of this operation”, which includes ensuring security and transportation. flow.
Asked about the confusion on the roads after Friday night’s celebration, Captain Joao Lourenço explained that Fatima had recorded the arrival of thousands of pilgrims for several days, and that within “an hour, an hour and a half” after the ceremonies, people intend to leave the city.
“It’s natural that there are always traffic jams,” he admitted, as happened after today’s mass. [sábado]and that it “flows within the limits of possible normality,” he elaborated, adding that a collision occurred on Friday that caused “an embarrassment from a road point of view.”
Thousands of people took part in the May 12 and 13 celebrations at the Sanctuary of Fatima, with the temple indicating that [sábado] about 200,000 people attended the final mass.
The jubilee international pilgrimage was led by the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Approximately 700 GNR soldiers are participating in the pilgrim security operation, which ends on Sunday.