Remember The Missing Beams? MOP Recovers 173 And Prepares Another Complaint -

(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama) The Minister of Public Works, José Luis Andrade, reported during his appearance before the Budget Committee of the National Assembly that 173 beams and 342 pieces of material have been recovered, out of a total of 600 that were lost during the previous government. “We have recovered 173 of the beams that were lost,” he said in response to questions from Representative Betserai Richards. He also anticipated further legal action:“Wait about 10 days and you'll see another complaint we're going to file,” he warned, without offering further details. Richards also questioned Andrade about how many people were involved in the case, but the official responded that that was a matter being handled by the judicial authorities.

The Investigations

In fact, recently, the judge of guarantees, Óscar Carrasquilla, filed charges and ordered the arrest of three people, including an official from the Ministry of Public Works (MOP), a collaborator of the Veracruz Communal Board, and the sister of the former representative of that community, Ronald González, for the crimes of embezzlement, due to the theft of 600 H-beams, valued at $3 million. During a hearing held on April 24 at the facilities of the Western Panama Accusatory Criminal System (SPA), Judge Carrasquilla accepted the charges filed by prosecutors Azucena Aizpurúa and Tania Degracia and ordered the arrest of the three defendants, considering the charges a serious one and the risk of flight.

The defendants were arrested a week earlier during a series of raids in Pacora and Veracruz, which also yielded documents related to the case. Among those arrested was Alberto Ábrego, who worked as a security agent for the Ministry of Public Works and who, according to the prosecution, received money from the sale of the beams into his bank accounts. Another of those arrested is Bayron Pineda, a volunteer with the Veracruz Communal Board, who is alleged to have received a $3,000 check from a recycling company to which some of the beams were sold. The arrest of Brenda González, sister of former Representative Ronald González, was also ordered. The prosecution accuses her of participating in the purchase of a truck with money obtained from the illegal sale of metal structures.

The Accused

In this case, the prosecutor's office has charged eight people: one reached a plea agreement, six remain in custody, and another remains under house arrest. The missing beams weigh 2,854 pounds each. According to bank information available to authorities, one recycler paid $38,050 and another $13,704 for the beams. On March 2, a judge declared this investigation a complex case and granted the prosecutor's office one year to complete it. However, as previously announced by the Minister of Public Works and Public Works, a new complaint will be filed in the coming days regarding the loss of these beams, which were to be used for construction on the Bridge of the Americas. Below is the location where these beams were stored for future use. All 600 beams disappeared.

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