The police said their ‘e-mole’ operation involved 30 searches of homes and offices in several cities such as Porto, Fafe, Guimarães, Santarém and Lisbon.

The investigation began six months ago when the police were alerted to illegal access to judicial information about court cases involving Benfica.

A source connected with the case said that Benfica’s legal advisor Paulo Gonçalves had been detained regarding a case of emails.

A computer technician belonging to the justice computer department was also arrested.

The police believe the judicial system was penetrated illegally and the information about the investigation in Benfica and search warrants was sold to Paulo Gonçalves.