Customs officers face jail terms

Nineteen customs officers could serve three to ten years in prison for committing a number of offenses. They are accused of smuggling, money laundering and creation of criminal organizations, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime. Misusing their authority, the 19 customs officers favored the smuggling of consumer goods to the value of over 26 million lei during 2006 – 2008. It was established that the customs officers had been involved in more than 100 cases of smuggling. The offenses were discovered in July 2008. The suspects created a criminal association composed of customs officers and economic entities. Twenty-eight customs officers were questioned as suspects during the investigations. Nineteen of them have been charged.