Latest news and stories about organized crime in Portugal for expats and residents.
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Police are investigating possible involvement of the PCC. An expert explains how this Brazilian crime mafia operates, controlling the entire logistics of drug trafficking from the Amazon rainforest to the European consumer.
Caught on Amado Beach, Carrapateira, in July 2025.
A joint operation led to the arrest of nine people in southern France and five in Belgium.
Cocaine trafficking to Europe is rising to record levels, and criminal networks are adapting by using semi-submersible vessels — such as one recently intercepted off the Azores — or by hiding the drug in frozen goods, Europol reports.
The case involves a criminal organisation made up of individuals of various nationalities, Portuguese and from Eastern European countries, which operated in northern Portugal.
'Operation Sombra Negra' ran for more than a year, coordinated by the Spanish National Police. The dismantled organisation had a structure that also extended into Portugal.
A court has ordered pre-trial detention for five people connected to Group 1143, among them Gil 'Pantera' Costa.
The offences under investigation include criminal association, aggravated fraud, document forgery and money laundering.
In the heart of Brazil, among favelas and bustling streets, a new organisation emerged that would change the face of crime forever: the Primeiro Comando da Capital.
In the heart of Brazil, among favelas and bustling streets, a new organisation emerged that would change the face of crime forever: the Primeiro Comando da Capital.
Fourth part of the 'Investigação CM' programme broadcast on CMTV on 22 January 2026.
Third instalment of the Investigação CM programme, broadcast on CMTV on 22 January 2026.
Historian Riccardo Marchi analyses the contours of Operation Brotherhood, which culminated in the arrest of 37 members of Group 1143, including an Air Force serviceman and a police officer.
A criminal gang accused of stealing cars to carry out robberies in the Porto metropolitan area
The Public Prosecutor's Office charged 24 defendants. The gang sold the stolen cars abroad. Each vehicle was sold for around €3,000.
Colonel Francisco Rodrigues, president of OSCOT, says that fully dismantling groups like 1143 is very difficult and predicts that the Judicial Police operation will inflict heavy losses.
The Guimarães prosecutor described the crimes as “very serious” and, in his closing arguments, argued that the sentences should all be substantial. The group seized more than €400,000 in goods and cash during six bogus house searches.
For at least a year, the network sold cocaine, heroin and hashish in Bairro Novo da Pasteleira, in Porto. With a “stable and hierarchical” structure, it shared selling hours with rival groups.
Myanmar is the epicentre of the 'crime factories' that are affecting Portugal.
