Cândido

In 1939, when the world went to war, Salazar declared Portugal neutral. A race to acquire tungsten began, a metal that was fundamental in arming the belligerent powers and which filled the Portuguese state's coffers. Neutrality opened the door to thousands of refugees, but also to international espionage. The English, French, Italians, Japanese and Germans created networks of contacts by recruiting informers in the main Portuguese companies. The Police of Vigilance and Defence of the State try to keep an eye on the spies, control the streets and repress the strikes. While the Portuguese Legion, created to fight the communist threat, now takes over civil defence. Several spies in the service of the belligerent powers settled in Portugal and their orders were clear: control information and tungsten. To ensure compliance with their orders, many of them carried out in Portugal some of the most important clandestine operations of espionage of World War II. Cândido de Oliveira followed and was part of one of these networks, the Shell network, which the British operated in Portugal between 1941 and 1942, composed of Portuguese and allies from England, France and other countries, and which included a plan to destroy Portugal's infrastructures and counter-espionage in case Portugal was invaded by the Germans.