Reguengos de Monsaraz, Portugal, Aug. 6, 2026 (Lusa) - A 31-year-old man has been arrested by the Portuguese Public Security Police (PSP) in Reguengos de Monsaraz pursuant to an international arrest warrant issued by Moldova for human trafficking, the police announced on Thursday.
In a statement, the PSP explained that the arrest was carried out by the Wanted and Missing Persons Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department on Monday in Reguengos de Monsaraz, in the district of Évora.
Police officers executed an international arrest warrant issued by Moldova to facilitate further legal proceedings, as the man, a Moldovan national, is accused of human trafficking between February 2024 and August 2025.
According to the PSP, which refers to the indictment, the man, together with another suspect, is alleged to have recruited a fellow Moldovan national and exploited her «financial vulnerability through false promises of a legal employment contract in Portugal, which included a decent wage, accommodation and favourable working conditions».
The suspects are accused of organising the victim's transport from Moldova to Portugal, «where the victim was housed and subsequently subjected to labour exploitation in the agricultural sector», the statement reads.
«The victim was reportedly forced to carry out agricultural work, receiving minimal financial compensation, physically assaulted, deprived of passport and threatened with violence, in order to prevent her from leaving or reporting the offences to the authorities,» the PSP highlighted.
Once the criminal proceedings had begun, the PSP added, «the suspects are said to have contacted the victim and, persistently, attempted to persuade her to withdraw the complaint and alter her statements, offering financial benefits and legal assistance, whilst also making threats».
For the offences committed, the man, who was wanted in Moldova and has now been arrested by the Public Security Police, has committed a crime punishable in his country by a sentence of «up to 18 years' imprisonment», said the PSP.
The detainee appeared before the Évora Court of Appeal (TRE) on Wednesday, which ordered his custody; he was therefore taken to a prison «where he awaits the decision on the extradition proceedings» to Moldova.
When contacted today by the Lusa news agency, a source at the TRE indicated that the man «did not oppose extradition», but did not disclose the name of the prison where he is being held: «He is awaiting, in custody, the formal extradition request».
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