Portuguese court convicts 11 in national armory heist case

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A Portuguese court has acquitted a former defense minister but convicted 11 others in connection with the theft of weapons from the national armory more than four years ago. The former defense minister stood accused of malfeasance in relation to the mysterious reappearance of the weaponry in a nearby field four months after it was stolen. The prosecutors alleged that the then defense minister knew about a separate, secret plan by the Military Police to recover the stolen weapons after the heist that embarrassed the Portuguese armed forces. Prosecutors valued the weapons at around $40,000.