Five people – three men and two women – from Slobozia and Tiraspol were detained on Thursday morning before setting fire to the entrance door of the Central Election Commission and several cars in the parking lot of the General Police Inspectorate. Among the vehicles targeted are cars of high-ranking civil servants. According to the authorities, when questioned the suspects confessed that they were recruited by a man named Vladimir, who is currently in Moscow, in the Russian Federation, IPN reports.
"The first actions with the purpose of destabilization were documented a few days ago, when policemen of the GPI guard unit noticed a man who was photographing the personal and service transport units of employees and the administration within the precincts of the institution, more precisely in the parking lot. The same person was observed doing the same thing from the vicinity of the institution, both from Albișoara St and from the direction of the Station. Being asked what he was doing on the precincts of the General Police Inspectorate and why he was photographing, the man got confused in his statements and could not explain what the reason was," reads a press release issued by the GPI and the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases.
During the monitoring, other people were observed photographing cars next to the Central Election Commission and other state institutions.
Last night, at around 03:00 a.m., the investigation officers and employees of "Fulger" Police Brigade managed to thwart an attempt to set fire to cars in the GPI’s parking lot. Three hours later, a group of suspicious persons was noticed in the vicinity of the Central Election Commission, who intended to set fire to the entrance door of the CEC.
The five persons aged 18, 25, 28, 34 and 42 were detained. They had two bottles of flammable liquid on them. They are being questioned and prosecutors will decide on the preventive measures.
The suspects told that a man from Russia recruited them to set fire to a number of cars in the GPI and CEC parking lots for a sum of US$5,000. Suspects' statements were confirmed by chats found in their phones, through which they communicated with the recruiter, Vladimir, from whom they received instructions. For the money to be transferred, the suspects were to place photos of the burned GPI and CEC cars in the chats. Earlier, the same people received instructions to vandalize the headquarters of the Court of Appeals.
