“Quality and diversity of what we seized was surprising” – PJ
The dismantling of a far-right armed militia by PJ Judicial Police today was the largest operation of its kind ever carried out in Portugal – with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, military weapons and explosives seized
“The quality and diversity of what we seized was surprising,” said Manuela Santos, director of the National Counter-Terrorism Unit (UNCT) of the Judicial Police, at a press conference summarising the “Desarme 3D” operation, which led to the arrest of six people from the Movimento Armilar Lusitano (MAL).
‘It was surprising’ to find in the group this ‘ability to do something with some projection, with the means they had,’ she said, adding that the group was “arming” itself “recruiting people and carrying out actions”.
Manuela Santos added that the seized material ‘has an origin and that everything is still open in this regard’, with ‘new lines of investigation.’
She did not rule out the involvement of “members of the police and security forces and military forces” within the group.
Among the six detainees is a member of the PSP (urban police force), and others have links to private security groups.
The wider group includes members who “belonged to former far-right structures that no longer exist”, such as Nova Ordem Social, founded by neo-Nazi Mário Machado (himself now back in jail for inciting hatred over social media).
A video distributed by the PJ showed neo-Nazi books, propaganda and 3D printers used to make weapons or modify airsoft guns so that they could fire lethal ammunition.
Today’s searches took place in Greater Lisbon, with authorities monitoring face-to-face meetings in an investigation that began in 2021.
“It is not easy [to investigate] because it is a difficult environment to penetrate. These types of individuals are very alert” to the actions of authorities, said Manuela Santos.
As for the classification of the group, she said Movimento Armilar Lusitano (MAL) falls under “the law on combating terrorism” and “violent alteration of the rule of law”.
“There was no concrete plan yet” to “trigger criminal action,” but the goal was to “attack institutions,” in line with what other groups of this kind do internationally, she said, recalling the mega-operation by the German authorities in 2022 that dismantled a group attempting to carry out a coup d’état.
“They are people from many backgrounds,” united by “discrimination based on gender identity, race and creed.”
The pandemic intensified the activity of MAL, as with other “anti-system groups”, admits Santos, stressing that “everything ends up being an argument to oppose the current system”.
The six arrested are cited for offences related to terrorist groups and activities, discrimination and incitement to hatred and violence and possession of prohibited weapons. They will appear in court today for their first round of judicial questioning.
As part of Operation “Desarme 3D” (Disarm 3D), various types of explosive material, several firearms, some of which were produced using 3D technology, several 3D printers, dozens of rounds of ammunition, various dangerous weapons and computer equipment, among other items of evidence, were seized.
LUSA
