Police catch two major fugitives this week
The suspect for the triple homicide last week in Lisbon was caught in Palmela, while one of five inmates who escaped from a high-security prison last month was recaptured in Tangier, Morocco.
Fernando Silva
This Thursday, the Judiciary Police (PJ) managed to capture the suspect in the triple murder that shocked Lisbon last week.
Fernando Silva, who had been on the run since last Thursday, was caught in Pinhal Novo, Palmela, Setúbal district.
According to reports, the neighbourhood was surrounded by the Polícia Judiciária when it became known that Fernando was hiding there.
It was the suspect’s father who ended up handing his son over to the PJ, after they fled together with Fernando's half-brother on the day of the triple murder.
Fernando Silva is currently at the headquarters of the Polícia Judiciária in Lisbon.
The motives for the crime remain unclear. Some experts have suggested that the four people involved in the case are all linked to a drug trafficking network.
The barber, Carlos Pina, 43, would be a recipient of drugs, which he would store in his barbershop. The taxi driver, Bruno Neto, and his wife, Fernanda Júlia, would transport the drugs in their car, and Fernando Silva, the perpetrator of the shootings who has now been arrested, would be responsible for arranging and selling the drugs.
Fábio Loureiro
Meanwhile, one of five inmates who staged a spectacular escape from a high-security prison near Lisbon a month ago was recaptured in Tangier, Morocco, in a joint operation by Moroccan, Portuguese and Spanish authorities.
Fábio Loureiro, 33, known as “Cigano” (gypsy) and one time dubbed “the terror of the Algarve” was arrested late on Sunday night.
He appeared before a judge in Morocco on Tuesday before his extradition to Portugal to serve the rest of a 25-year prison sentence for armed robbery, drug trafficking, extortion and other crimes, police said.
Tell me more
Speaking to SIC television channel, Fábio Loureiro’s lawyer, Lopes Guerreiro, said that he will oppose extradition.
Reports say that Loureiro’s girlfriend led authorities to his hiding place, a house in Tangier, where he was living with another Portuguese man, believed to have helped him in the escape.
Loureiro’s girlfriend drove to Madrid, and then flew via Barajas airport to Casablanca. From there, in Moroccan territory, she drove to Tangier to meet her boyfriend.
Loureiro’s arrest came after the two had met again. It was Sunday evening.
After travelling to North Africa, his girlfriend also spent the night in custody, but was released on Monday.
Portuguese police said that the other four fugitives, including foreign nationals, remain at large.
Background?
On Sept. 7, the five convicts escaped from Vale de Judeus prison during visiting hours, when the guards were busy, with the help of a long ladder provided by an accomplice on the outside.
The prison guards’ union has long been flagging what it sees as inadequate staffing and security at the prison with a capacity for 560 inmates, especially since the watchtowers were torn down and replaced with video surveillance.
Read more about the case here.