The protest by sellers of the Chisinau Central Market was mounted as a result of searches carried out by employees of the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases in concert with prosecution officers of the Customs Service and officers of the National Investigations Inspectorate.

The object of the investigations is the contraband goods smuggled into Moldova, not the activity of business entities, it is said in a press release of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

“The Customs Service supported the documentation actions and searches in a case managed by the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases,” Customs Service press officer Cristina Rau stated for IPN.

Officers carried out searches in commercial areas and at the domiciles of persons suspected of selling consumer goods smuggled into Moldova though Ukraine.

It was established that a group of people illegally brought different goods into Moldova, including through the Transnistrian region. These were sold to business entities and private individuals that later sold these in markets and shopping centers in Chisinau.

The searches at the Central Market made a part of the sellers take to the street. These blocked the traffic at the intersection of the streets Stefan cel Mare and Tighina for a period.

Silviu Musuc, deputy chief of the Municipal Police Division, has told IPN it is important that they managed to unblock traffic. No one has been penalized, but employees of the Centru Police Inspectorate will take measures to identify all the responsible persons and will hold them accountable. Under the Contravention Code, those to blame are liable to a fine of up to 2,000 lei.