The Judicial Police (JP) arrested four men of foreign nationality aged 27 to 55 for crimes related to the criminal community, skilled fraud, document forgery and money laundering.
This was the second phase of the National Anti-Corruption Unit’s operation to apprehend “members of a criminal organization engaged in skilled fraud commonly known as ‘letters from Nigeria’,” the SP said in a statement.
The detainees sent letters to several countries and written in several languages, allegedly sent by law firms, informing the victims of the existence of an inheritance of millions of euros in connection with the death of a family member living in Portugal.
After the response, the victims, mostly elderly people, were asked to send personal data. “Victims received documents allegedly issued by national government authorities, with false seals, stamps and signatures, as well as various banking institutions, both national and international,” adds the SP.
According to the same source, “subsequently, the victims were asked to pay amounts related to insurance costs, bank/administrative fees and taxes.”
Three house searches were carried out, hundreds of letters, printers, mobile phones, ink cartridges and various computer equipment used in the production of letters were seized.
Letters were also sent out about a “supposed” cash prize that the victims had won, with yet another demand for additional payments.
According to PJ, criminal activity has been going on since at least 2022, causing harm to citizens of countries such as the United States and France in amounts that amount to hundreds of thousands of euros.
“The first stage was carried out in May 2022 as part of a joint operation with the Spanish, British and American authorities, coordinated by Europol, at that time a total of 16 people were arrested in Portugal,” guarantees the joint venture.
Four defendants were presented to the judicial authorities, three of them were assigned the most severe measure of restraint in the form of detention.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal
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