The head of a division of the National Public Security Inspectorate (NPSI) was detained in the case of cigarette and ethyl alcohol smuggling in Vulcănești. Earlier, a NPSI inspector and a former division head of the National Investigation Inspectorate (NII) were detained in the same case, IPN reports.
The General Police Inspectorate said that the policeman was placed under arrest and searches will be carried out at his home.
The man who had headed the South NII Division for 10 years and the policeman were apprehended 10 days ago. It goes to the seizure of almost two million cigarettes and about half a tonne of ethyl alcohol.
The operation is a follow-up to the episode of seizure of 3.8 million contraband cigarettes, with arrests in Vulcănești, in the summer of 2022. In October of the same year, prosecutors announced that the first case was sent to court. The two persons arrested now are part of the same organized criminal group. On December 23, 2023, they were driving separately a minibus and a guarding car running in front of this. The minibus was stopped by a NPSI crew on the Leova-Cahul route following information received from the NII.
The driver said that he was also a NPSI officer and refused to open the trunk. He did not comply even if the crew inspectors insisted. In reaction, the man started the minibus, trying to drive away. The former NII chief tried to obstruct the way of the police crew. After about an hour of chasing, he crashed the minibus into the police car, which skidded off the road, being seriously damaged. Finally, the two were apprehended close to Comrat town.
