Criminality in Portugal - The Organized Crime Index

 

Portugal is primarily a destination country for human trafficking, with labour exploitation being the most prevalent form of this crime. However, it also plays a key role as a transit country, particularly on the Latin America route, predominantly from Brazil to Europe. Cases of human trafficking are believed to be significantly under-reported. Most of the minor victims are boys from Romania, who are primarily exploited for adoption, labour exploitation, domestic servitude, begging or sexual exploitation. 

The majority of adult victims are men from developing countries, particularly African countries. In this context, Portugal usually serves as a transit country for the West Africa route in which victims obtain fraudulent documents before moving on to other European countries where they are frequently subjected to sexual exploitation. The continuance of human trafficking in Portugal is enabled by inadequate victim identification, the ongoing illicit practices of temporary employment and recruitment agencies, and the pervasiveness of false promises made to victims. Transnational criminal networks, particularly those from Eastern Europe, are the main players involved in this activity, and both domestic and foreign actors profit from it.

Human smuggling is also a prevalent criminal market in Portugal. People from countries in Southern Asia, such as India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, and Eastern Europe, such as Romania, Moldova, and Bulgaria, as well as Latin America and West Africa, are increasingly smuggled into the country to be exploited in various sectors, mainly agriculture and hospitality. 

Criminal actors, including domestic and transnational networks, use sea or air routes as transit platforms. Balkan criminal networks use national airports to convey people irregularly into Portugal. The El Jadida–Faro sea route is used to avoid controls carried out by Moroccan authorities and the Canary Islands are increasingly being targeted along the West African route. A significant rise in document fraud connected to border controls has been detected.

Historically, the extortion and protection racketeering market has been pervasive in the country, especially in the north, usually involving biker gangs. However, recent evidence has been scarce and major events related to this crime are no longer common. Nevertheless, extortion is still occurring in the country and the latest reports indicate the moderate involvement of foreign actors too.

in Organized Crime Index