Arrests of father and son with explosives surprise village in Arcos de Valdevez

The arrest of two men, father and son, early this Monday morning, with thousands of explosives, in their homes, located in the town of Vaqueira, parish of Miranda, in Arcos de Valdevez, took the entire village by surprise .

Controlled explosionsOperation at dawn

According to O MINHO, the father, José, aged 64, and his son, Jorge, aged 35, were arrested following two home searches, in an operation by the PSP of Viana do Castelo, with the Special Police Unit and the GNR of Arcos de Valdevez.

In addition to thousands of explosions, the police authorities seized weapons and ammunition from the father and son, the first who is a construction worker and the second who works as a farmer, who works as a gravedigger in the parish of Miranda.

Although the thousands of explosives, which were in the middle of the village and endangered the entire community, were intended for civil construction and pyrotechnic activities, they could later be diverted for criminal purposes and therefore have been confiscated.

Controlled explosions

The operation led by the Viana do Castelo District Command of the PSP lasted all day and at the end of the afternoon it was still continuing, with the controlled explosion of explosives, on an old football field in the vicinity of the village, witnessed by O MINHO.

Due to the danger involved in handling the explosives, which were stored illegally without respecting safety conditions, the PSP chose to explode, by remote control, all the material, approximately two kilometers from the location of the seizures.

The police action always had the support of the Arcos de Valdevez Volunteer Firefighters, for preventive reasons, including two vehicles, including a rescue ambulance, in addition to the detachment of several operatives from the Arcos corporation.

Early morning operation

At seven o’clock in the morning PSP and GNR operatives burst into the homes of the two suspects, confirming their suspicions, but ending up finding a much higher number of explosives than expected, which made the operation delay.

The operation was part of Operation Police Always Present – ​​Easter in Safety, as revealed by the District Command of the PSP of Viana do Castelo, explaining that it had been developing an investigation that has now culminated in an operational action.

The PSP of Viana do Castelo developed the operation with the support of the Department of Weapons and Explosives (Lisbon), the Special Police Unit (of the PSP of Porto) and the GNR, whose main objective was to combat the manufacture and sale of explosive material.

Two house searches and five warehouse searches were carried out, and the two suspects, aged 64 and 35, were arrested, both for possession of weapons and ammunition, as well as possession and/or illegal production and trade in explosive products.

Upon final accounting and other police and administrative control aspects, the Viana do Castelo District Command of the Public Security Police will only then issue a new statement, with the definitive balance and more details.