Reports indicate Minister Azeredo Lopes had launched the audit to ascertain “the actions of prevention and criminal investigation” by the competent judicial authorities.
The source also said that the audit’s report “should be completed by the end of the year.”
The theft of military equipment from the Tancos arsenal was announced on 29 June 2017. Among the stolen material were anti-tank grenades, plastic explosives and a large amount of ammunition.
On 18 October 2017, the military judiciary police announced that it recovered almost all the material stolen, around 30km from Tancos.
The prosecutor’s investigation of the recovery, named “Húbris” operation, led to the arrest for interrogation of members of the military police and the Republican National Guard (GNR).
On 25 September, the judiciary police detained the director and three members of the military police, one civilian and three GNR police officers from Loulé.
According to the prosecutor, in question are “facts susceptible of integrating crimes of criminal association, denial of justice, malfeasance, document fraud, influence trafficking, personal favouritism from the employee, abuse of power, receiving stolen goods, possession of prohibited weapons and arms trafficking.”
The case led to the resignation on 12 October of the former minister of defence, José Azeredo Lopes, invoking the need to prevent armed forces from being harmed by the “political attack” and the accusations he claimed were targeted at him.
The parliament should vote and approve next week a parliamentary inquiry committee, proposed by the country’s centre right-wing CDS/Popular Party, on the disappearance and reappearance of the military material in Tancos.