Employees of the border crossing point in Valea-Perjei village of Taraclia district used firearms in order to catch smugglers who attempted to take over 700 liters of alcohol into Ukraine. Press officer of the South Division of the Border Police Raisa Novitski has told IPN that four cases of alcohol smuggling have been thwarted in southern Moldova so far this year. There were seized almost 2,000 liters of alcohol.

A patrol of the Border Police saw a minibus on the border line and approached it. The persons who were near the vehicle tried to drive away, but failed and abandoned thus the car, running in different directions. Though the police used guns, the smugglers didn’t stop and hid in the village.

There were 75 ten-liter bottles with alcohol in the minibus. The customs employees announced their colleagues in Ukraine, who found 1,100 liters of alcohol on the other side of the Nistru River.

Also, a citizen of Ukraine was caught smuggling 25 tonnes of alcohol through the Giurgiulesti-Reni border crossing point. The driver told the customs officers that he was transporting sacks of salt.

Nineteen cases of alcohol smuggling have been discovered in Moldova this year so far.