Far-right lawmaker from Portugal accused of stealing suitcases at several airports

LISBON - A Portuguese far-right lawmaker has been accused of stealing suitcases at several airports and has been kicked out of his political party as a result, the grouping has said.

According to several news outlets, police questioned him on Jan 21 at Lisbon airport and allegedly charged him with luggage theft, with some of the missing suitcases reportedly found at his residence.

The 40-year-old lawmaker, Miguel Arruda, has denied any wrongdoing.

“I am being crucified on the public square... but until proven otherwise, I am innocent,” Arruda told broadcaster TVI on Jan 23.

Arruda, who decided to remain in the assembly as an independent, requested that his parliamentary immunity be lifted.

Members from his former party Chega booed Arruda during a Jan 24 parliamentary session.

Assembly president Jose Pedro Aguiar-Branco told Arruda to sit at the back of the chamber, where unaffiliated lawmakers are typically seated.

Local media reported that police have camera footage showing the lawmaker taking passengers’ suitcases off the baggage carousel and then allegedly placing them into his own bag.

Arruda defended himself by saying the video surveillance footage could have been generated by artificial intelligence.

Prosecutors “confirm only that steps have been taken as part of an investigation... relating to facts that have nothing to do with his official duties,” a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General’s Office told AFP on Jan 24.

“As president of the party and faced with these circumstances... I can’t allow him to remain in the parliamentary group,” Chega President Andre Ventura said on Jan 23 after meeting with Arruda.

Some outlets in Portugal reported that Arruda had then sold the contents of the suitcases on an online second-hand platform. AFP