This Sunday, security forces said that the PNP confiscated almost 10 tons of olives and charged a 44-year-old man on suspicion of receiving the fruit in the municipality of Aljustrel, Beja district.
A statement from the Beja Territorial Command of the GNA indicated that 9,982 kilograms of olives, or almost 10 tons, were seized on Saturday in Montes Velhos, municipality of Aljustrel, in an operation that involved several Guard areas. .
According to the GNR, patrol activities have been intensified to detect suspicious vehicles following reports of several olive thefts that occurred in Alfundao, in the neighboring municipality of Ferreira do Alentejo.
According to him, during one of these actions, the military discovered a car that was unloading at an olive reception center in Montes Velhos, without providing any statements confirming the origin of the fruit.
The PPR emphasized that during the police investigation it was established that on the territory of the same center there were 10 vehicles containing several kilograms of olives, the origin of which had not been proven.
For this reason, the Guard reported, 18 suspects in the theft were identified and 6,150 kilograms of olives were seized.
A 44-year-old man was also charged on suspicion of receiving olives, and 3,832 kilograms of these fruits were also seized, which were already inside the center and the origin of which was not legally proven.
“In total, 9,982 kilograms of olives were seized during the operation,” he concluded, adding that 150 people and 40 vehicles were at the scene.
During the police operation, the military also prepared eight protocols on administrative offenses provided for by traffic rules.
In the Beja district, since the start of Operation Campo Seguro 2023, more than 27 thousand kilograms of olives have been seized, 79 people have been arrested and 122 suspects have been identified in olive theft incidents.