Two customs brokers and a businessman were arrested by the National Anticorruption Center for 72 hours, following searches carried out this morning in the north of Moldova.

The suspects are believed to have asked and offered bribes to influence officers at the Northern Customs Office into making only superficial checks on their clients and fast-tracking clearance procedures. The illegal fees asked by the brokers are believed to have ranged from 3,000 to 15,000 lei.

23 searches were carried out in the offices of the Balti Internal Customs Post, the Northern Customs Office, but also in the cars and homes of the customs brokers and businesspeople allegedly involved in committing the offenses.