The FIRE MAFIA CARTEL in Portugal.

In Portugal, it has been raining nearly day and night 
for months on end, causing the wettest winter

 and early Spring  in recent memory. 

Yet, in the first two days of sunshine, 

the terrible forest fires has made a sizzling come-back. 

Since the beginning of 2018 alone, 

there have already been more than 2,500 ignitions 

of forest fires in Portugal. 

More than 10 elderly people have died, 

in uncontrolled bush fires.

According to the GNR, 

in 2017 more than 527 thousand hectares 

of forest were burned, 

367 thousand hectares more than in 2016.

In 2017, the GNR recorded 21,952 incidents 

associated with forest fires, 

9,864 crimes, 65 were detained for arson, 

919 people were identified 

and 4,578 fined for misconduct.

The Portuguese court is investigating the ramifications 

in the national territory of the so-called Cartel do Fogo, 

a group of Spanish companies suspected of 

engaging in the manipulation 

of aerial fire-fighting contracts in recent years.

The companies would combine prices of their bidding 

for contracts in Spain, Portugal and Italy, 

and then split the profits; 

in other cases, they would ignore the tenders,

in order to oblige the States to raise the basic price 

of their services. 

The latest news in the Spanish press on the case,

 shows that the scheme also included contracts 

not only for aerial fire-fighting facilities 

but also for the transport of urgent patients.

To control the fire-fighting sector, 

the air businessmen corrupted several local authority officials 

and of political parties, with the indication that in Portugal,

 they would have the help of a business facilitator 

whose identity remains unknown. 

"I had a network of contacts 

at the Portuguese institutions to ensure the adjudications," 

the El Mundo newspaper quoted statements made in court, 

a year ago by the main accused of the scheme, Francisco Alandí, 

who worked several years for the company 

that is in the center of the "cartel", 

the Avialsa.

Although it has competed,

 at least twice in 2012,

 for the adjudication of aerial firefighting contracts in Portugal, 

Avialsa and its Spanish partners in Portugal,

 associated itself with local Portuguese firms.

This was done, 

with the sole proprietorship of the Tondela Agro-Montiar, 

to which the National Civil Protection Authority 

offered a direct agreement in 2014, 

 in a contract of close to one million and 800 thousand euros 

(1,797 million euros) excluding VAT:

which consisted of the rental, maintenance and operation 

of two medium-sized amphibian aircraft 

between June and October.

The fact that the Civil Protection 

alleged that it had two of their own aircraft, 

the Kamov helicopters, which were inoperative

 was not sufficient for the Court of Auditors to refuse to grant a visa,

 to the contract in question. 

The following year, when it won an international public tender 

for the same purpose, amounting to almost five million euros, 

Tondela's sole proprietorship subcontracted Avialsa.

In court, Francisco Alandi,

 revealed documents to prove his allegations, 

with emails from 2010, in which his former boss, Vicente Huerta, 

made their intentions clear, in respect to their business in Portugal. 

"We have to win all contracts this year. 

We have the support of the group of Spanish companies 

to do and undo whatever we want in Portugal. 

After the 2010 campaign, 

we have to focus on the attack of 2011.

This year, Portugal is our priority. 

And we will attack with all our available arsenal".

The most active years of the "cartel" in Portugal

 were 2006 and 2007, but contract were made up to 2015, 

the year in which the investigation was launched in Spain 

and the first arrests were made, wrote the newspaper El Español.

Just in 2010, the companies under investigation, 

distributed profits resulting from the rental of seaplanes

 to the Portuguese state at the cost of 1.6 million euros, 

a profit that "quadrupled the real cost of the service". 

At the moment more than two dozen people 

have been detained in Spain.

An audit by the Portuguese Court of Auditors,

 on the contracting of firefighting aircraft,

 in those first two years revealed, in addition, 

to various weaknesses in the system 

of control of flight-hours, but not only. 

"The proposal for authorization to open a public tender for 2005,

 which only occurred in February of that year. 

In the same year, two of the five international public tenders,

 were cancelled and, as a result, 

alternative air companies were recruited 

through direct contracts,"

criticizes the court.

According to the Spanish investigation, 

cited by the country's press, 

those responsible for the cartel, 

including Avialsa, Faasa, Espejo, Martínez Ridao, Cegisa and Inaer 

(which meanwhile changed its name to Babcock),

 used to combine strategies 

at a roadside hotel in Manzanares, Andalusia.

Babcock has a Portuguese subsidiary,

 that has won several contracts for the urgent patients' 

air transport business 

for the National Institute of Medical Emergency, 

(INEM) as well as contracts for firefighting in recent years. 

In 2014, the Court of Auditors declared illegal, 

a direct adjustment contract to Inaer, 

for the amount of 3.9 million euros. 

The Portuguese government has paid millions 

of millions of euros of tax-payers money

for these fire cartels.

The tragedy of last year, 

is sure to continue this years, 

because the more fires and deaths, 

MORE BUSINESS FOR THE CARTEL:

With the socialist government of António Costa, 

anxious to maintain in power, 

they prefer to spend many more millions, 

rather than finding the REAL CRIMINALS
of the FIRE CARTELS!!