26 arrested as GNR seizes 40kg of hashish in major drugs crackdown

A major anti-drug operation in northern Portugal has led to the arrest of 26 suspected members of an organised criminal network and the seizure of around 40 kilograms of hashish, following a months-long investigation by GNR police.

The operation, carried out by the GNR’s Criminal Investigation Unit in Oliveira de Azeméis under the Aveiro Territorial Command, targeted a group suspected of drug trafficking, illegal firearm possession and other related offences.

Police arrested 21 men and five women, aged between 17 and 61, while executing 11 arrest warrants, 43 residential searches and 44 searches of other premises.

According to the GNR, officers seized approximately 40 kilograms of hashish—equivalent to around 80,000 individual doses—along with other illegal drugs and equipment allegedly used in the trafficking operation.

Investigators said the inquiry uncovered a highly organised criminal structure with “significant logistical capacity” that operated on a permanent and coordinated basis, managing the supply, transport, storage and distribution of narcotics across the districts of Aveiro and Porto.

Evidence gathered during the investigation suggests the network was primarily active in the municipalities of Aveiro, Arouca, Estarreja, Vale de Cambra, Albergaria-a-Velha, Oliveira de Azeméis, São João da Madeira, Vila Nova de Gaia and Porto, supplying a broad network of drug users while using multiple locations to conceal, prepare and distribute narcotics.

The GNR also alleges that part of the group’s activity took place in densely populated urban areas and locations frequently used by young people, including areas surrounding schools, in an apparent effort to recruit new consumers and expand the illicit trade.

The operation involved several specialist GNR units and received operational support from PSP counterparts.

The 26 suspects are due to appear before the Judicial Court of Santa Maria da Feira this afternoon for their first judicial hearing, where a judge will decide what pre-trial measures, if any, should be imposed.

Source material: noticiasaominuto

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.