The incident occurred during the early hours of 8 July and involved four hooded men wearing gloves.


A GNR spokesman told Lusa news agency: “The crime was registered by the surveillance units of the commercial centre and was essential in assessing the number of criminals involved.”


Captain Bruno Carvalho added that the suspects were later “spotted by a GNR patrol that was near the bull ring and began a chase until near Branqueira, where the men then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.”


The stolen goods, which included mobile phones, routers and other electronic equipment, was “recovered in full” from inside the vehicle, which was “seized,” according to the GNR.


The GNR also said that the car had Portuguese registration plate, but there was another one registered in France, on which there was an alert in the Shengen area issued by the Slovenian authorities for its apprehension.


The GNR continues to try to locate the perpetrators of the crime.