Ten of 17 Eastern Europeans arrested in a major investigation into burglaries across Portugal have been remanded in custody.
The group was part of a network that operates throughout Europe and specialised in opening locks of properties from which they stole valuables.
The investigation into the criminal network operating in Portugal was run by the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF), under the direction of the Central Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Action and with the collaboration of the Public Security Police. The SEF was able to identify gang members entering Portugal with the sole purpose of theft throughout the country.
Money, jewelry, and other stolen goods were sent out of the country to the top of the organisation based in Moscow in Tbilisi, the capitals of Russia and Georgia.
In Portugal, the gang members specialised in housebreaking and are said to have had the help of locally based helpers who advised them on targets and provided accommodation, vehicles and housebreaking tools.
In addition to the crimes of gang membership and theft, some of the defendants also have been charged with document forgery, money laundering and marriages of convenience.
Almost three dozen witnesses have helped identify stolen goods that have been recovered after house searches were carried out as part of Operation Gazua.
The gang is composed of "crime professionals from the Caucasus", who specialised in opening all kinds of locks that, after finding out the types of locks and the routines of the householders, broke in to steal money and objects of value, explained the SEF.
The gangs have been working in cells across Europe and have been acting in isolation in order to make it more difficult for the authorities to identify other networks.
See also: Spanish police bust Georgian crime ring suspected of robbing more than 100 homes
