Soldiers are suspected of smuggling the items on military cargo planes traveling between Central African Republic and Portugal, the office of the Portuguese Armed Forces Chief of Staff said in a statement. Hundreds of elite Portuguese troops, including paratroopers and commandos, have been stationed with the U.N. force in Central African Republic in recent years. The Portuguese force commander on that mission was told in December 2019 about the possible involvement of Portuguese soldiers in diamond trafficking, the statement said, without providing further details of the tip-off. Following the tip-off, the military stepped up checks and inspections of military flights from Central African Republic, according to officials. The tip-off related to two Portuguese soldiers who were no longer in the Central African Republic, Gomes Cravinho told national news agency Lusa, in an interview published by Diario de Noticias.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 08, 2021 18:49 UTC