A male suspect remains in custody on suspicion of drug trafficking in São Miguel, in the Azores, during an operation where “one of the most significant seizures” of synthetic drugs this year was made on the largest Azorean island.
The information was released today by the PSP Regional Command, explaining that the police operation, with the “execution of several searches, including a house search, enabled the discovery and seizure of a significant quantity of narcotics of synthetic origin,” which would make it possible to prepare “around 3,000 individual doses for consumption”.
According to the press release, other types of drugs and articles related to the alleged trafficking were also detected, including a vehicle used to transport the drugs.
The accused, a 33-year-old male, resides in the municipality of Lagoa and operates in “various parishes in the municipalities of Lagoa, Vila Franca do Campo and Ribeira Grande.”
In these places, he “sold heroin and synthetic drugs directly to habitual users of psychotropic substances” and “distributed doses of synthetic drugs ready to be marketed to other dealers.”
Over the last two years, the suspect has been the target of several raids by the police authorities, in which “small quantities of narcotics” were seized. The suspect claimed to be a “mere consumer of hard drugs.”
However, the collection and consolidation of evidence made it possible to ascertain that the trafficking “reached a much more significant scale.”
“After being presented for questioning at the Ponta Delgada court, the defendant will await the outcome of the case under a preventive detention order,” the statement reads.
The Ponta Delgada Police Division stresses the “tremendous importance of the results obtained” in the operation to combat drug trafficking carried out in the municipality of Lagoa and throughout the island of São Miguel.
in Açoriano Oriental, Paulo Simões-director
Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno.
Although a fictionalized account of a historical event, the popular series Turn of the Tide on Netflix dealt in part with the issue of drug production and drug usage in São Miguel Island.
Novidades - The Islands and the Diaspora 