RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Portugal’s Foreigners and Border Service (SEF) arrested three Brazilian evangelical pastors – two men and one woman – in the city of Amadora, Greater Lisbon, on Thursday, January 9th, accused of trafficking in persons and aiding illegal immigration.
The SEF also served five search and seizure warrants.
According to the body, some 30 Brazilian citizens, including children, who lived in “very precarious conditions” were rescued. The majority were illegal in Portugal and had migrated to the country attracted by the Brazilian religious organization.
The Portuguese body did not disclose the name of the church or the identity of the detained pastors. In all, 55 agents took part in the operation.
“In addition to the working conditions, housing and health conditions in which they were found, foreign citizens, including children, were subject to the payment of amounts of money (as a tithe) to the religious organization,” the SEF said in a statement.
Gonçalo Rodrigues, the agency’s central director of investigation, said in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper ‘Público’ that the investigations began three months ago after a denunciation of activities “categorized as human trafficking”.
According to Rodrigues, investigators noted the poor housing conditions, the “way people lived there” and the fact that “the income they were supposed to earn” was returned to the church.
“There was clear evidence of exploitation there,” the director of the SEF told the Portuguese newspaper.
The three pastors were interrogated on Friday, January 10th, by a Portuguese court. The SEF reported that the investigations are still ongoing.