The 30-year-old man is suspected of committing 16 crimes of fraud, 10 crimes of falsifying rental contracts, 6 crimes of damaging homes, and 6 crimes of trespassing.

The suspect “took advantage of houses that were empty, because they belonged to foreign owners or people who did not live in them, changed the locks and rented them out for holidays”, the commander of the Caldas da Rainha Territorial Detachment told Lusa news agency.

According to the commander, the man “advertised the houses and even made visits to the location, with those interested in renting and with whom he then signed contracts, as if the houses were his”.

In some cases, “there were homeowners who arrived at homes and found them occupied by people who had rented them out without their knowledge,” he added.

The crimes took place from the summer of 2023 to March 2024 in the municipalities of Alcobaça, Caldas da Rainha, Óbidos, and Peniche, the GNR said in a statement.

As part of the investigation, which culminated with the arrest of the suspect, the police carried out four searches, two at homes and two in a vehicle, in the municipalities of Porto de Mós and Nazaré.

These resulted in the seizure of two vehicles; nine cell phones to carry out fraud crimes; an ATM card; a laptop computer and various tools used to carry out the crimes.