The 39-year-old Dutch citizen was brought before a judge at a court in Évora last Friday and, according to a statement from the Attorney General’s office (PGR), “when questioned, he accepted his being handed over to the Dutch authorities”, who emitted the International Arrest Warrant.
At the time the statement was sent to The Portugal News, on Tuesday this week, “procedures for the handing over” were being carried out. He was awaiting extradition at a prison in Beja.
At stake, the PGR said, and in accordance to the International Arrest Warrant, is “the verification of the crime of abduction.”
The man was intercepted by GNR officers in Albufeira last Thursday (5 February) after being pulled over during a routine roadside police check on one of the city’s main streets in the Montechoro area.
He was ordered to stop by officers who wanted to check the paperwork for the Dutch-registered vehicle, its driver and young occupant.
Information from the GNR force said the man’s “nervousness, coupled with the fact he was transporting a large amount of money” roused the officers attention.
The suspect, who reportedly told police he worked as a driving instructor, was found to be carrying around €20,000 on him.
A 15-year-old girl who had no official documentation or ID on her, was in the vehicle with him, causing enough suspicion for the officers to run a check on the man, including running his details th´rough the Schengen database.
They found he was flagged with an International Arrest Warrant, issued by Dutch authorities.
“The request for capture and arrest, originating from the suspected abduction of a minor, led to confirmation that the young girl who was being transported had been reported missing in the Netherlands” at the end of January, the GNR explained, adding “all necessary measures” were immediately taken to ensure the protection of the minor.
Speaking to newspaper Correio da Manhã GNR Commander Major Marco Henriques said “he didn’t justify the origin of the money and alleged that he had bought the minor, which raised even more suspicion.”
A source close to the case told The Portugal News that the girl, who is said to be Bosnian, had been orphaned “some time ago” and that she had been reported missing by her appointed guardians.
But, the source elaborated, in the brief period that police here spent with her she did not seem to show signs of having been coerced or brought to Portugal unwillingly.
Both the suspect and the minor, a 15-year-old girl, were, on Wednesday, still in Portugal.