Two men were arrested on suspicion of stealing non-precious metals from electric vehicle charging stations in the municipality of Almada.
The arrest was carried out by the Territorial Command of Santarém, through the Criminal Investigation Center of Tomar, as part of an investigation that had lasted for a month. The suspects, aged 38 and 28, are also accused of more than 100 thefts at electric vehicle filling stations in the districts of Santarém, Setúbal, Leiria, Lisbon and Évora, explains the GNR in a statement.
According to the GNR, “the thefts were carried out with a view to obtaining non-precious metals, namely copper, for subsequent sale and obtaining illicit income”.
“As part of an investigation related to the crime of stealing non-precious metals from electric vehicle charging stations, which had been going on for around a month, the Guard’s military personnel carried out police investigations that culminated in the execution of two arrest warrants, two home search warrants, a non-home search warrant on a waste management operator and a non-home search warrant on a vehicle”, describes the GNR.
Following the action, a variety of material was seized, namely several electrical charging cables, electrical cable dismantling machinery, material from the dismantling of electrical charging cables, a car, computer equipment and documents relating to the transaction of non-precious metals.
The detainees, with criminal records for the same type of offense, were present at the Judicial Court of Tomar, and the coercive measure of preventive detention was applied to them.