The suspects, six men and one woman, aged between 24 and 41, were arrested during a police operation to combat drug trafficking, culminating in an investigation which began eight months ago by the Loulé Criminal Investigation Center (NIC).

During the operation, the authorities carried out 13 house searches and six vehicle searches, which resulted in the seizure of 6,115 doses of cocaine, 9,659 doses of hashish, 45.6 grams of MDMA, several pills, steroids, two weapons, various ammunition, five vehicles and various sound, image and communications material.

Two precision scales and around €40,000 were also seized, money that may have resulted from “illicit activity related to large-scale drug trafficking” in the Algarve and Baixo Alentejo region, the guard said.

The police operation had the support of the entire criminal investigation structure and the intervention detachment of Faro from the GNR, with the collaboration of the Public Security Police.