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Former Defense Minister Azeredo Lopes, accused in the Tancos case, said today that the former Attorney General of the Republic never warned him that the Military Judicial Police (PJM) was conducting an investigation parallel to the theft of weapons.
Azeredo Lopes responded in the trial of the Tancos case, which takes place in Santarém, after reiterating that his “involvement” in the case of weapons stolen from the warehouses is “overwhelmingly political” and that “never, by those who had the coordination from the investigation, they told me that something was not going so well ”.
“I never knew [antes de 18 de outubro de 2017] of any parallel investigation by the Military Judicial Police. The Attorney General, as coordinator of the investigation, never complained. In fact, after dispatch, I even believe that PJM was able to participate in the investigation, carry out the due diligence because it had an institutional collaboration role, ”he said.
The former governor once again denied having knowledge or having authorized the carrying out of a parallel investigation by the PJM against the decision of the PGR, made public by order, questioning what personal or institutional interest he had in that decision.
Regarding the theft of weapons, which occurred on June 28, 2017, Azeredo Lopes denied having felt “humiliated, annoyed or offended” by the crime committed, feelings that, for the prosecution, could be sufficient grounds to cover up the actions of the PJM. .
“Fortunately, I have more to deal with. Construction [da acusação] it is an efabulation. The idea of a humiliated and offended minister only serves to explain the narrative, “said Azeredo Lopes, considering that the crime that occurred in the warehouses” was neither directly nor indirectly his concern. “
The defendant also said that over time, since the theft in June 2017, he became “less and less concerned” about national security, because he had been guaranteed that the most dangerous stolen material “was obsolete” and that “if it was manipulated could even cause death to those who manipulate it ”.
Azeredo Lopes also said that the former director of the Military Judicial Police and also accused Luis Vieira never asked him to interfere in the investigative skills, however, he expressed his disgust at the fact that the PGR ceded the main role of the investigation to the Police Judicial (PJ), with PJM having the function of “institutional collaboration”, denying however that the military had asked it to interfere or reverse the situation.
Ten defendants respond in court for criminal association, trafficking and mediation of weapons and terrorism, for participation in the theft of weapons and the remaining 13, among them Azeredo Lopes, two elements of the PJM and several soldiers of the GNR, on the commissioning scene / cover-up that was made. On the basis of material recovery, in the Chamusca region, Santarém, in October 2017, in an operation that involved the PJM, in collaboration with elements of the GNR of Loulé.
