In a press release, the PJ revealed that “the arrest took place as part of a police operation carried out in the municipality of Ponta Delgada”, on the island of São Miguel, and “allowed the seizure of approximately 27 kilos of hashish and 250 grams of cocaine”.

The 53-year-old man was identified and detained “in flagrante delicto” for “strong evidence of the crime of drug trafficking,” the statement reads.

Questioned by Lusa, the criminal investigation coordinator of the Judiciary Police in the Azores, Renato Furtado, said that the amount of hash seized “would be enough for 54,000 average individual daily doses” and the amount of cocaine for “1,260 average individual daily doses”.

The operation was conducted by the PJ's Department of Criminal Investigation of the Azores, with the collaboration of the Guarda Nacional Republicana.

Renato Furtado revealed that the arrest took place “as part of combat operations at drug entry points on the island”, adding that they were narcotics “from the mainland that were transported to São Miguel”.

According to the criminal investigation coordinator, the detainee had “a criminal record in the area of ​​crimes against property”, but had no history of drug trafficking.