Africa-Press – Angola. The trial of the deputy commissioner of the National Police, Paulo Francisco de Jesus da Silva, accused of arms trafficking, began this Monday at the Supreme Court in Luanda.
Joaquim Matondo Marques Fernandes and Tony José are also defendants in the same case.
On this first day, the three defendants and two deponents were heard for the production of evidence.
The accusation presented by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Lucas dos Santos, points to the senior officer having imported bladed and firearms weapons from Namibia without an updated license for that purpose, using illegal means and avoiding customs posts.
Among the lethal means are eight pistols, 15 sabers, five rifles, two of which are machine guns and several ammunition carriers.
According to the accusation, the deputy commissioner asked for help from his friend Joaquim Matondo Fernandes to use influence to remove the goods from Namibia and he, in turn, appealed to an acquaintance, Tony José, a resident of Ondjiva, in Cunene.
At the request of Joaquim Matondo Fernandes, Tony José crossed the border to look for the three boxes containing the weapons and ammunition, using “wire” paths to bring the material into national territory.
The arsenal was detected at the Xangongo customs post when a truck was searched, driven by a driver, supposedly Namibian, to whom Tony José allegedly paid 30 thousand kwanzas.
The deputy commissioner, who was previously deputy director for Armaments and Explosives, denies that they are dealing with lethal material, saying that the weapons are sporting rifles, as they are shot-by-shot and not bursts, and that the sabers are household knives. , and are therefore not prohibited.
In the defense presented by his lawyer José da Costa, he says he does not agree with the accusation of manufacturing, trafficking and altering prohibited weapons and ammunition.
Joaquim Fernandes confesses to having been an intermediary and that the deputy commissioner transferred 500 thousand kwanzas to Tony José to introduce the weapons into the country and send them to Luanda.
He highlighted that he had not received any monetary compensation.
Tony José said he never went to look for the goods in Namibia, but a friend of his, acting as declarants, Francisco Sebastião António, reported having left him on the border with the neighboring country where he intended to go, on that day, allegedly, to look for a vehicle part. .
Adilson Hifikepunhe said that his brother-in-law Tony José informed him the day before the seizure of the weapons, February 1, 2022, that he was on the border with Namibia where he would leave at around 3 pm.
The hearing took place in the judgment room of the Supreme Court and its rapporteur was the venerable advisor judge, João Fuantoni, and assistants were the venerable advisor judges Nazaré Pascoal and Raúl Rodrigues.
The reporting judge scheduled the resumption of the trial at 10 am on Friday the 24th with the need to audit experts.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
