The 27-year-old man who was arrested in Calheta for trafficking in human beings and aiding illegal immigration last Tuesday is a foreign citizen who was working in Madeira and was eventually discovered accidentally.
According to the Diário Notícias, the individual was wanted for crimes committed outside Portugal and had traveled to Madeira where he found a kind of refuge, trying to go unnoticed by the authorities.
What he would not have expected is that an unexpected situation, related to the avoidance of taxes, would plot his peaceful and discreet passage through the Region. Following a complaint, the GNR, which has competence in the tax and customs area, was called to Calheta to investigate the citizen’s tax situation.
It was during an inspection operation at a commercial establishment that the 27-year-old man was identified. However, the GNR military verified that, in addition to the alleged tax evasion, a situation of another seriousness hung over him – a European arrest warrant for crimes of trafficking in human beings and aiding illegal immigration.
As the Diário reported in the printed edition, during the action the man was arrested and the facts were communicated to the Lisbon Court of Appeal. The suspect was taken to the Funchal Prison, in Cancela.