Grenades and plastic explosives stolen from Portugal military base could end up in hands of terrorists
Thieves cut fence at Tancos military complex and take items including hand grenades and 1,450 rounds of ammunition
Investigators in Portugal are looking into how a gang of thieves managed to break into the national arsenal and make off with an enormous haul of weapons including anti-tank grenades, plastic explosives and more than 1,400 rounds of ammunition.
The theft from the Tancos military complex, 100km northeast of Lisbon, was discovered last Wednesday.
Reports suggest the complex’s CCTV system has been broken for the past two years.
Portugal’s defence minister, Azeredo Lopes, said the thieves cut through a perimeter fence, and he described the operation as “very professional” and a serious security breach. Lopes said Portugal’s partners in Nato and the EU had been told of the incident.
On Monday the Spanish news site El Español published an inventory of the missing items that it had obtained from Spanish counterterrorism sources.
Among the items were 1,450 9mm cartridges, 18 tear gas grenades, 150 hand grenades, 44 anti-tank grenades and 264 units of plastic explosives.