Eight people have been detained and ten others, including foreign students, are being investigated at liberty for drug trafficking. Most of the suspects are citizens of Israel, only two of them being from Moldova. The law enforcement officers carried out more than 30 searches in the capital and in Cahul, during which they detected two cultivation and processing cannabis plants. The information was presented at a press conference.
Ion Țurcan, National Investigations Inspectorate representative, said that the organizer of this criminal group is a 23-year-old citizen of Israel. The criminal status of the ten people investigated at liberty has not been established yet. Out of the total number of investigated persons, 14 are active drug users.
According to law enforcement officers, the documentation of the persons involved in the storage, transport and distribution of drugs began in June 2019 and is an ongoing process. Drugs were marketed even in educational institutions. Police officers added that a member of the academic community is among the suspects. He admitted that he cultivated marijuana for profit.
Mihai Vodă, Bureau of Migration and Asylum representative, said that some foreign nationals violated their term of stay. Following the completion of criminal proceedings, the Bureau will decide whether to cancel their right of residence. "The age of the foreign nationals varies between 21 and 24 years of age and most of them are from Israel. It is regrettable that most of these foreign students are future doctors", said Mihai Vodă.
The suspects face 7 to 15 years in prison if they are found guilty.
The head of the Antiterrorist Center within the Information and Security Service, Sergiu Miţelescu, said that some of the foreign students, especially of Arab origin, were involved in various activities that generated security risks for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. Over the course of the last three years, several operative measures have been carried out and about 30 foreign students have been forcibly removed from the country.
