Illegal drugs valued at 3.3 million lei were seized in a joint operation with Ukrainian agencies. Some of the drugs were cached in pump motors, which were supposed to be picked by a suspect at the North Bus Station in Chisinau. The pumps eventually arrived in Chisinau emptied and the recipient was arrested.
The Special Cases Prosecutor’s Office said the operation began in March 2024, when Ukrainian authorities arrested the member of a cross-border drug producing gang that was using pump motors to smuggle the merchandise. The suspect was detained as he was trying to cross the border into Moldova with about 4.5 kg of drugs.
The investigation continued, and on Wednesday the suspected organizer of the smuggling was also detained. The 28-year-old man was arrested after returning from Comrat, where he had planted drug stashes. In Comrat, investigators found more than 20 sachets of drugs that he had hidden for customers who were going to pick them up, and another 800 grams of the same alpha-PVP drug were found in his car. Commonly known as “salt”, the drug can cause paranoia or hallucinations that can even lead to self-mutilation.
Prosecutors will ask 30 days of preventive arrest for the suspect while working on the indictment.
