PJ searches Cascais’ cell

The Judicial Police (PJ) carried out searches this Wednesday in the Cascais City Council, which is led by Carlos Carreiras and where, until January 2024, the Vice President was the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz. It was about investigating corruption crimes during the construction of a factory for the production of surgical masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In June 2020, the Cascais City Council launched its own production of customized protective surgical masks for the population, with equipment sourced from China and also supplied to other municipalities. To this end, the municipality converted an old warehouse into a mask factory early in the Covid-19 pandemic, when health authorities were still debating whether the use of masks should be mandatory or even recommended. About 500 thousand euros were invested.

The municipality, he added, had purchased two machines from China and, as of June 28, 2020, had “a production capacity of more than five million masks per month, at a unit cost of [era] half the best price offered on the market.”

At the time, the council installed 400 mask machines throughout the municipality and distributed them free to public transport users.

“We have a clear conscience in the sense that we have not committed any illegal actions in this area. We are cooperating with the authorities, it will soon be seen what actions will be taken,” said Cascais Chamber President Carlos Carreiras. journalists.

The president of the municipality said that he was not surprised by the searches, and explained that they were based on a report from the Accounts Chamber, prepared based on the results of inspections carried out at the mask factory.

“These processes were already based on the Accounts Chamber’s own report, which states that part of the case should have been investigated by the prosecutor’s office, and that is exactly what is being done. We didn’t know the day or the time, but we’re not surprised,” he said.

Carlos Carreiras also mentioned that the Chamber of Cascais disputed the report because it considered that “there were no irregularities,” stating that “this is something that will be investigated” during these searches.

The mayor took full responsibility for the entire process of making the masks, abdicating the responsibility of his then vice-president Miguel Pinto Luz (current minister of infrastructure and housing), as well as the rest of the council.

“As far as I know that the searches carried out by the PS here in the hall concern the mask production process, I can say that the only person responsible for the entire process is me. Even former Vice President Miguel Pinto Luz did not take any part, nor did any of the advisors, because at that time we were imprisoned, they were imprisoned, I was not imprisoned, I could not be imprisoned, therefore I was the only one responsible here,” he said.

Carlos Carreiras also reported that, in addition to the city council, the joint venture is looking for computer resources in the São José building, where the urban planning services of the municipality operate, in the center of Cascais and in the municipal company that managed the mask communication process.