Breaking news this morning was that a large quantity of military firepower reported stolen from Tancos military base in June has been found, in the middle of scrubland, in the Chamusca region of Santarém.
Authorities were working on an anonymous tip-off, say reports.
PJ military police say they now have 44 “military weapons”, grenades and explosives back in army possession, though it is unclear whether this is the full complement of missing weaponry.
There is still no explanation either as who may have been responsible.
The wooded location is around 20 kms from Tancos’ base, explains Expresso.
The ‘anonymous tip-off’ however came via GNR police in the Algarve borough of Loulé.
And here the plot thickens somewhat. Expresso, for example, says the discovery was not communicated to PJ (civil) police until the middle of the morning.
Yet Diário de Notícias claims PJM (PJ military police) found the stash “at the crack of dawn”.
The Tancos’ heist was one of the Socialist government’s major embarrassments this summer, prompting a great deal of satire from Spanish media (click here).
DN stresses nonetheless that while the PJ counter-terrorist police were charged with “exploring all possible scenarios” (including that of international terrorism being behind the theft), the PJM was always convinced this was a “strictly military” matter.
More details are expected to come through shortly.
Dinheiro Vivo for instance is already reporting that “the 9mm rounds of ammunition” are missing from today’s open-air discovery.
