Portuguese Police Break Up Major Illegal Immigration Network Near Lisbon
Criminal Group Dismantled Amid Tightening Immigration Rules
Details of the Police Operation
LISBON, May 26 (Reuters) - Portuguese police said on Tuesday that the authorities have dismantled a criminal group allegedly responsible for illegally trying to regularise the status of around 4,000 migrants and arrested two suspected ringleaders, amid a tightening of immigration rules by the centre-right government.
Operation "Miraculous Land"
• Police said the operation "Miraculous Land", carried out on Monday on the outskirts of Lisbon, targeted a criminal group dealing in illegal immigration, document forgery, computer fraud and money laundering.
Scale and Profits of the Illegal Activity
• It said the illegal regularisation of around 4,000 migrants in recent years had generated hundreds of thousands of euros in illicit profits.
Government Response and System Loopholes
• The government has tightened immigration rules, saying loopholes in the system built under the previous administration that gave foreigners easy access to the jobs market had enabled widespread abuse.
Methods Used by the Criminal Group
• The police said the group used stolen social security online access credentials from dozens of insolvent, inactive companies to provide bogus employment contracts and other documentation.
Investigation Timeline and Suspects
• It said the investigation began in September 2023 and the main suspects - a businessman and a lawyer - are a foreign national and a Portuguese citizen.
• The police did not identify the two detainees.
Background: Immigration Trends in Portugal
• Portugal, with about 10.5 million people, has seen a surge in immigration in recent years.
• Migration agency AIMA estimates more than 1.5 million foreign citizens were legally residing in the country last year, about double the number from three years earlier.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
