A record quantity of heroine was seized at the Giurgiulesti-Galati customs post, at the exit from Moldova. The over 136 kg of drugs were smuggled from Turkey and were to reach the EU, where a gram of heroine costs about €150 on the black market, IPN reports.

Head of the Customs Service’s Law Enforcement Department Iurie Ceban told a news conference that this is a record volume for the customs post, not yet for the country. The drugs were identified on August 9 in a refrigerated truck with a foreign license number that, according to the documents, travelled from Ukraine to Bulgaria through Moldova. Upon a check, there were found 253 packs of heroine weighing 136 kg. On the black market, this quantity costs €10 to €20 million.

Prosecutor Lilian Bacalim said the 33-year-ild driver of the truck, who is a citizen of Bulgaria of Romanian origin, but who lives in Greece, was arrested. He refused to make statements. The police charged him and asked for an arrest warrant for 30 days against him. He was allegedly a member of the group, not yet its organizer. He received the drugs from Ukraine and was to transport them to Bulgaria and then to Greece, from where these were to be distributed to other states.

The police suspect it is an international criminal group specialized in drug trafficking. Its members are from Europe and Asia, while Moldova is only a transit territory. It was established that this truck earlier crossed Moldova too. The heroine was packed in polyethylene and treated with red pepper so as to mislead the sniffer dogs.

A criminal case was started over smuggling of narcotic substances in very large amounts. The culprits face up to ten years in jail.

The truck will be seized for the benefit of the state, while the drugs will be destroyed when a conviction decision is passed by the court.