Police authorities have seized 42 tonnes of cocaine since January this year, 17 more than in the whole of 2025, national director of the Judicial Police (PJ), Carlos Cabreiro, has revealed.
Speaking at the ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of the PJ, at the police institution’s headquarters in Lisbon today, Cabreiro said: “In the fight against drug trafficking, successive records for cocaine seizures have been achieved. In 2024, 23 tonnes; in 2025, 25 tonnes; and, to date in 2026, 42 tonnes”.
The figures include seizures carried out by all police forces and, for the PJ director, they are an “example of excellent collaboration and coordination between criminal police bodies and security forces and services” – with the decisive support of the Armed Forces, usually deployed in operations on the high seas.
Asset Recovery Office identifies €108 million
In his address, Carlos Cabreiro also highlighted the work of the institution he heads in combating organised and transnational economic and financial crime, particularly that of the Asset Recovery Office (GRA).
According to the PJ chief, in the first half of this year, the GRA “identified €108 million in assets, seized or froze assets worth €11 million, established €60 million in unexplained wealth and responded to 313 cooperation requests from 40 countries”.
PJ director reaffirms loyalty to the Public Prosecutor’s Office
Almost a month after the Public Prosecutor’s Office carried out searches at the PJ headquarters and training school as part of an investigation into false testimony and abuse of power in which Carlos Cabreiro is a suspect, the PJ national director also reaffirmed that the institution’s loyalty to that body “is an absolute value”.
“We establish joint lines of action and operate on a basis of permanent coordination, grounded in strict compliance with the law and respect for the rights, freedoms, guarantees of citizens and the dignity of the human person”, he said.
Artificial Intelligence represents a “true rupture”
Looking to the future, Carlos Cabreiro warned of the “true rupture” represented by Artificial Intelligence and recalled that justice “cannot be written in binary code”.
“Humanity cannot be programmed and we are, above all, an organisation of people working for people”, he said.
Source: Lusa
Natasha Donn
Journalist for the Portugal Resident.