Portugal: Madeiran accused of transporting 22 kilos of hashish in a vehicle

Last year, the judicial police seized around 22 kilos of hashish in Lisbon, found in the lining of the passenger compartment of an Audi A3, shipped to Madeira Island by a 46-year-old Madeiran individual. The trial, according to Diário de Notícias da Madeira, will take place on June 13 at the Funchal Court.

A 46-year-old Madeiran defendant is accused of having bought about 22 kilos of drugs in Lisbon, which he hid in the lining of the passenger compartment of an Audi A3, having then sent the car to Madeira by sea. He was detained by the Judiciary Police on the afternoon of July 13, 2022, when he was preparing to collect the vehicle at the port of Caniçal. He was remanded in custody and his trial is scheduled for June 13, at the Funchal courthouse (Building 2000).

According to the indictment signed by prosecutor Ana Pires, based on the investigation by the PJ, the man, surnamed Silva and residing in São Roque, traveled to Lisbon on 5 July last year. He allegedly acquired 21,7 kilos of hashish and 100 grams of cocaine from a person that the PJ was unable to identify. He will also have bought an Audi A3 and hid the drugs inside, having left the vehicle at the Santa Apolónia terminal on July 6, to board a cargo ship bound for Madeira. It turns out that, at the time of the security checks, the ship's crew got into that car and noticed an intense smell of cannabis, verifying, then, that in the rear part of the vehicle the lining was completely detached from the bodywork, in this space the packages of hashish and cocaine. The police authorities were alerted and monitored the transport of the vehicle, having proceeded to arrest its owner in the aforementioned situation at the port of Caniçal.

As part of the investigation of this case, the PJ inspectors carried out a search of the defendant's residence, in Caminho da Igreja Velha, in São Roque, and found a greenhouse with six cannabis plants, with a gross weight of 600 grams.

He is now on trial accused of the crime of aggravated drug trafficking.