According to the note released by the Southern Directorate, which developed the operation as part of an investigation under the supervision of the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action, the detainees are of “different nationalities”, unspecified, and are between 35 and 55 years old.

They “bear strong suspicions of the crime of illicit drug trafficking”.

"The characteristics of the group, the multinationality of its composition, the great capacity for movement and the organisational capacity indicate that it is an organised criminal activity with a transnational scope," said the police.

The intervention took place in the areas of Faro, Loulé and Albufeira, in the district of Faro, with the collaboration of GNR.

In addition to hashish, five vehicles used to transport the drug, as well as “other objects related to the crime”, were seized in “Operation Azimuth”.

The Central Criminal Investigation Court, in Lisbon, will hear the detainees in question, continuing the investigation under the PJ.