Lisbon, 27 Sep 2019 (Lusa) – The Inspector General of Internal Affairs (IGAI) revealed today that four GNR military personnel involved in the Tancos case have been constituted defendants in disciplinary proceedings.

“Four disciplinary proceedings are pending before IGAI in which GNR military defendants were now charged in the criminal case” of Tancos, says the agency that monitors police activity, in a reply sent to the Lusa agency.
IGAI states that an investigation is also pending.

Six military officers from the National Guard Republic have been accused by the Public Prosecution Service (MP) of involvement in the case of theft and recovery of weapons from the Tancos military base, and denial of justice and prevarication and personal favouritism practiced by an employee.

The MP requires as accessory penalties for these six defendants of GNR the suspension of duties and the ban on the use and possession of weapons.

Among the GNR defendants accused in the case of Tancos are a sergeant, two guards, a lieutenant colonel and two colonels.
The theft of war material was reported by the Army on June 29, 2017.
Four months later, PJM revealed the appearance of stolen material in the Chamusca region, 20 kms from Tancos, in collaboration with members of the GNR de Loulé criminal investigation nucleus.

The MP today accused 23 people, including the former defence minister in the case of theft and weapons recovery. Defendants are charged with terrorism, criminal association, denial of justice, malfeasance, falsification of documents, influence peddling, abuse of power, retention and possession of a prohibited weapon.

The case shook the military, led to the resignation of Azeredo Lopes in 2018 and the controversy surrounding the theft, made public by the Army on June 29, 2017 with the indication that it had occurred the previous day, rose in tone after the apparent, recovery of material in the Chamusca region of Santarém district in October 2017, in an operation of the Military Judicial Police (PJM).

Nine of the 23 defendants are accused of planning and executing the theft and the remaining 14, including Azeredo Lopes, of the staging that led to the recovery of the equipment.