SEF closes prostitution bar that operated in Porto warehouse

The Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) announced, this Sunday, the closure of a nightlife bar and adjoining accommodation, which operated in a warehouse in Porto, in an operation in which it also constituted two defendants, carried out two searches and identified 25 women ” in a situation of sexual exploitation”.

According to the SEF in a statement, the operation was carried out as part of an investigation into “the activity of a criminal group dedicated to assisting illegal immigration for the purposes of sexual exploitation of foreign citizens”.

Three of the 25 women identified in the establishment, comprising the nightlife bar and adjoining accommodation, were subject to procedures for immediate removal from Portuguese territory.

In the searches, the SEF says it has seized “objects associated with sexual practices, a high-capacity vehicle, large amounts of money and other valuables, weapons, tasers, directional microphones and cell phone signal inhibitors”.

The SEF says that the organization in question, which recruited women abroad, operated in a warehouse with “exiguous rooms without natural light, built in prefabricated material”.

The bar and accommodations were closed and sealed, in accordance with the respective criminal proceedings.

The operation was coordinated by the Investigation Unit of the Regional Department of the North of the SEF and had the support of 23 Inspectors from various organic units in the north of the country.