On the first day of the restoration of documentary control at the borders, as part of World Youth Day, the Portuguese authorities took control of more than 77 thousand people, preventing 17 people from entering the country.
Documentary controls at air, sea and land borders as part of World Youth Day (WYD) came into force on Saturday and are carried out selectively and targeted based on information and risk analysis.
According to the operational balance, given today in the message of the Internal Security Service, during the first day, 2,982 people were controlled at land borders, and 74,341 passengers at air borders.
As part of the operation, 17 people were denied entry, of which 15 tried to reach Portugal by land and two by air.
In terms of air border control, the Aliens and Border Guards Service controlled 463 flights, the vast majority of which were outside the Schengen area, and made two arrests, one for forgery and illegal stay at Faro airport, and the other for trafficking in minors at Lisbon airport.
During the course of 13 verification activities during the day, with the participation of 159 employees of the National Guard of the Republic (NGR), 13 offenses in the field of land border control were revealed, one crime and one person was detained.
In terms of road safety, GNR screened 5,329 drivers and recorded 145 traffic accidents resulting in four deaths and one serious injury.
The replacement of documentary control at the borders will be valid until 00:00 on August 7 and takes place “as an exception in order to protect against any threats to public order and internal security,” according to a government decree.
Border control under the WYD, an event to be held in Lisbon from 1 to 6 August and in which Pope Francis will participate, is administered by the Foreigners and Border Guards Service (SEF) with the assistance of the Public Security Police (PSP) and the GNR, in addition to the possible cooperation of authorities from other countries.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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