The group, considered "highly organized" with a pyramidal structure, was allegedly dedicated to 'crack', with the prosecutor believing that the defendants were responsible for 'the overwhelming majority of trafficking' carried out in downtown Coimbra, says the accusation to which the Lusa agency had access.

The group will have had activity "at least between October 2017 and November 2018", and would be headed by a 32-year-old from Coimbra who "didn't touch the narcotic", organizing all the activity from afar and avoiding "being related directly” with it, stresses the prosecutor.

The alleged head of the group had four other key men in the activity, as each member of the association would have a definite concrete activity.

While some were in charge of transporting the narcotic from the source (in Bairro do Aleixo, Porto) to Coimbra, others paid, others hid the drug in retreat houses, others supplied the drug dealers located in downtown Coimbra and still others supervised the distribution and selling of the product, the prosecution claims.

In the purchase of the crack, the postman went with other members of the car group to Porto, but returned alone, with the drug, by train, "so that, if detected by the authorities, only he would be intercepted, keeping the identity of the other members of the group and the organized nature of their activities unknown," says the Public Prosecution Service.

Also for security reasons, "it was not the postman, but another member of the group who sold the drug to suppliers."

The head of the group, avoided being directly related to the activity, "allowed any interceptions and arrests of members to be taken for isolated acts, for the quantities seized, thus remaining untouched the criminal group that led," says the prosecutor.

The prosecution also points out that the group was able to establish a monopoly on the sale of crack in downtown Coimbra for over a year and says it believes that the organization would make a profit of over 75,000 Euros per month from such activity.

Of the 18 defendants, six are in custody.