Portugal found guilty of trafficking in people, weapons and drugs

Human, arms and drug trafficking are the top criminal threats in Portugal, according to a report published Tuesday by the Global Initiative to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, which also highlights the risks of economic, financial and cyber crime.

According to the organization’s Global Organized Crime Index, “Portugal is primarily a destination country for human trafficking, with labor exploitation being the most common form of this crime,” but it also stands out as a “bridge” from Latin America to Europe, and data on crimes of this type are underreported.

The document shows that the predominantly minor victims are boys from Romania, who are mainly exploited for adoption, work, begging or sex, while the adult victims come mainly from African countries. However, the phenomenon of migrant smuggling from South Asia (India, Nepal or Bangladesh), Eastern Europe (Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria) and South America is also covered.

“The continuation of human trafficking in Portugal is made possible by inadequate identification of victims, illegal practices of employment and temporary recruitment agencies, and the spread of false promises made to victims. Transnational criminal networks, particularly in Eastern Europe, are major participants in these activities, with both national and foreign actors benefiting from these activities,” the report said, referring to a “significant increase” in document fraud at border controls.

Drug trafficking is another of the most frequently reported crimes, noting that Portugal remains an “important transit and destination country” for heroin, cocaine and cannabis, which are transported primarily by sea and air through international criminal networks. The rise of new psychoactive substances such as “bloom” is also considered “worrying”.

“The strategic geographical position of Portugal makes it both a destination and transit country for cannabis resin from Morocco, as well as a country of origin for herbal cannabis,” the document says, continuing: “Portuguese authorities have also discovered speedboats that will be used by Spanish criminal gangs transporting drugs between Moroccan and the Spanish coasts.”

Regarding the arms trade, the document identifies Portugal as a “bridge” for the illegal transport of firearms to Africa, highlighting the conversion of flare and flare weapons between criminal organizations, either through importation from Turkey or legal acquisition in European space and subsequent illegal modification for shipment to other countries .

The report also found that the number of cyberattacks has “increased significantly, especially in the education and health sectors”, but also did not forget “media conglomerates, companies and even parliament”, linking the war in Ukraine and the lifting of restrictions imposed by the covid-19 pandemic to the emergence of new threats.

Regarding economic and financial crimes, the international organization emphasized that in Portugal, in recent years, “the number of cases has increased” and that “investigations related to tax evasion and fraud with European funds are ongoing.”

Finally, the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime identifies the presence of mafia groups in the country, highlighting the links of some groups with private security services in nightlife (namely in Porto) or with gangs and groups such as the Hells Angels.

The report ranks Portugal 118th out of 193 countries for its crime rate, with a score of 4.88 (0 to 10), below the world average of 5.03, on a list topped by Myanmar, followed by Colombia and Mexico.