In a statement, the National Republican Guard (GNR) said that the seven suspects, four women and three men aged between 26 and 63, were detained by the Intervention Unit through the Criminal Investigation and Information Section.

At the origin of the arrests is an investigation into several crimes that occurred in 13 districts of mainland Portugal - Aveiro, Braga, Castelo Branco, Évora, Faro, Guarda, Lisbon, Portalegre, Santarém, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu.

“The suspects are indicted in 197 crimes, namely 63 for theft, 102 for qualified theft, 23 for simple theft and nine for violence after subtraction, in which the victims were predominantly elderly people, in a vulnerable situation, and are usually alone in the their homes”, says the GNR.

On 19 February, GNR has carried out 12 home search warrants.

As part of this investigation, the guard's military had previously detained 14 people, 10 of whom are in preventive detention and three with presentations at the police station in their area of ??residence.

The suspects will be present on Thursday, 20 February, at the Court of Sintra for the first judicial interrogation and application of coercion measures.

The operation involved elements from the Criminal Investigation Department of GNR, the Territorial Commands of GNR in Lisbon, Setúbal, Santarém and Évora, as well as the Public Security Police in the areas of responsibility where the proceedings took place (Lisbon and Évora).