International News

LISBON, June 29, (APP/AFP) – A large stash of hand grenades and
ammunition has been stolen from a Portuguese arms depot, the army said Thursday.
The army said in a statement that the theft happened Wednesday in
Tancos, north of Lisbon, adding that the ammunition concerned was 9-mm caliber.
A source close to the case said around 100 hand grenades had been
taken.
“This is clearly a serious incident,” Defence Minister Jose Alberto
Azeredo Lopes said in Brussels, where he was attending a NATO meeting, adding that the theft appeared to have been “quite professional”.
Portuguese authorities have opened an investigation and the NATO
country is informing its allies of the missing materiel, he added.
Security expert Joao Rucha Pereira told the SIC television channel
that the grenades were likely “destined to be resold on a black market that is going from strength to strength”, raising the prospect that they could fall into the hands of terrorist groups.