PSP detains police officers suspected of involvement in a violent criminal gang

Two policemen were arrested in an operation known as “Double Sided” carried out by the PSP on 27 May across several areas of the country, in particular in Lisbon and Setúbal, as part of an investigation into a violent criminal group with “highly profitable activities”.

According to a statement from the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the Public Security Police (PSP), the investigation began about a year ago, under the direction of the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action and the gang, made up of several suspects, including the two police officers, has acted in several areas of the national territory.
Under investigation are crimes of criminal association, corruption, personal favouritism practiced by an employee, extortion, coercion, possession of prohibited weapons and drug trafficking.

“At this moment, an operational action is underway, with actvities in several areas of the country, with emphasis on the districts of Lisbon and Setúbal, with the fulfilment of several procedural acts, by carrying out more than 30 searches”.
According to the metropolitan command, there are “four detainees, including two policemen, as well as the constitution of more than a dozen defendants and several apprehensions”.
One of the suspects, the police also said, has been in pre-trial detention since November 2019, in the context of another case, on suspicion of attempted murder.