The control at the Moldovan-Ukrainian border has been intensified. The border police personnel were redistributed so as to better cover the given segment. They are more attentively examining the vehicles in order to identify cases of trafficking in arms, munitions and explosives, director general of the Border Police Dorin Purice said in a press briefing at the border crossing point Tudora, IPN reports.
According to Dorin Purice, the destabilization of the situation in Ukraine entails aggression, but can also generate chaos and lack of control on the part of the Ukrainian forces, which can lead to trafficking in arms, radiological substances or in human beings.
“We do not rule out that certain criminal groups that found refuge on the territory of Ukraine will attempt to cross the green border to Moldova. Such acts began in February-March, when the situation in the neighboring state destabilized. We discovered mainly cases of contraband smuggling, but in northern Moldova we also identified cases of trafficking in munitions,” stated Dorin Purice.
So as to be able to better control the Moldovan-Ukrainian border segment, the human resources were redistributed to the problematic border segment. “The security-related problems are discussed at the regular meetings with the EUBAM Mission. Earlier we discussed other themes, but now we put emphasis on security. We intend to invite members of the Supreme Security Council to the next meetings so as to inform them about the situation. More intense cooperation is needed in order to be able to better react to all the events at the border and inside the country,” said the head of the Border Police.
Dorin Purice added that the difficult situation in Ukraine didn’t affect the cooperation with the Ukrainian colleagues. In some cases it was even intensified to counteract attempts to illegally cross the border.
The EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) was launched on November 30, 2005 following a request made jointly to the European Commission by the presidents of the Republic Moldova and Ukraine. Fully funded by the European Union within the context of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument, and with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) acting as implementing partner, EUBAM is an advisory, technical body mandated to enhance the border-management capacities of its partners – the border guard and customs authorities and other law enforcement and State agencies of Moldova and Ukraine.
