According to a statement from the Judiciary Police (PJ), the 17 suspects, 14 men, and three women, were arrested as part of Operation `Lizard´, supervised by the Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP) of Setúbal.

A PJ source told the Lusa agency that it was a “well-organised network”, with two distinct centers headed by the same individual, one of which was in Sines, district of Setúbal, and the other in Lagoa, in the Algarve.

Of the 17 people detained - the source added -, “nine were linked to the Sines hub and the other eight (…), some with family ties to each other, operated at the Lagoa hub”.

In the police operation, in which 85 inspectors from various units and departments of the PJ and elements of the GNR Territorial Commands of Setúbal and Faro participated, 18 home search warrants and 12 non-domestic searches were executed in Lisbon, Sines, and the Algarve.

The detainees, with a criminal record for crimes of the same nature, must be present today for judicial interrogation to apply possible coercive measures.