The border policemen within the General Inspectorate of
Border Police and Galati County Inspectorate of Border Police,
together with the employees within the County Inspectorate of
Gendarmerie Galati, under the coordination of D.I.I.C.O.T.
prosecutors - Territorial Service Galati with the support of
Romanian Intelligence Service - Galati County Directorate and
together with the policemen within the Fraud Investigation Services
in Braila and Galati, destroyed a network dealing with smuggling of
cigarettes from Ukraine and Republic of Moldova which was acting at
the level of Galati, Prahova and Suceava counties.
For seven months, the border policemen from Galati carried out an
ample operation in order to investigate the criminal activity of
the network and to collect evidences - called "La famiglia"
operation.
On 25 June 2009, the border policemen assisted by the involved
authorities, carried out 13 simultaneous house searches (10 in
Galati town and 3 in Prahova county), concurrent with drawing up 12
warrants for bringing before Court.
11 persons were detained for investigations, out of which 6 persons
were brought before Galati Court by D.I.I.C.O.T. prosecutors, on
26.06.2009, which issued preventive arrest warrants for 29
days.
The total quantity of confiscated cigarettes is 200.498 packets of
cigarettes amounting to 793.266 lei, several goods were
confiscated, and a distraint was also levied upon 4 apartments.
Investigations
During December 2008, the border policemen entered in the possession of some information according to which in the competence area acts an ample network dealing with smuggling of cigarettes from Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
Thus, under the coordination of D.I.I.C.O.T. - Territorial Service Galati and with the support of Romanian Intelligence Service - County Directorate in Galati and Prahova, the specific actions were started in order to ascertain the entire criminal activity and to punish the members of the network.
The investigations were carried out during several months thus resulting that the network was made up of Romanian citizens and persons with double citizenship, Romanian and Moldovan, a part of these belong to two well-known families in the underworld in Galati and the coordinator of the network was a person with double citizenship, Romanian and Moldovan, Anatolie C., aged 31.
In order to avoid the distribution of cigarettes on the black market, the transports of the traffickers were monitored by the border policemen from Galati with the support of Romanian Intelligence Service in Galati, and based on the received information, the cigarettes were retained on the radius of Braila and Prahova counties, under different reasons, so that until 24.06.2009 were confiscated 144.498 packets of smuggled cigarettes.
Under the direct coordination of D.I.I.C.O.T. prosecutors - Territorial Office in Galati and with the support of Romanian Intelligence Service - County Intelligence Directorate Galati, all the members of the network were identified, thus starting their monitoring in order to ascertain the criminal activity.
Modus operandi
The investigations evidenced the fact that this criminal group was very well organized on hierarchical levels, the leader of the group assigning very precise duties to the persons he coordinated regarding modus operandi and action in the border area.
The smuggled cigarettes were procured by persons from Republic of Moldova and Ukraine and were introduced in Romania through various methods:
through the border crossing points in Oancea and Galati, in small quantities and stored in Galati; on the Danube river, from Ukraine, through a locality in Tulcea county, with boats, from where they were taken over and transported in different locations from Galati; at the Romanian state border through Vicovu de Sus (Suceava county), transferred subsequently to Galati.After finalizing the collecting operation, the cigarettes were loaded into auto transportation means and transferred to different cities of the country in order to trade them on the black market, but the transports were monitored by the border policemen.
Searches
On 25.06.2009, starting with 06.00, in an action under the direct coordination of D.I.I.C.O.T. prosecutors - Territorial Service Galati - the border policemen from Galati, together with the employees within S.A.S.I. - G.I.B.P. Bucharest, Fraud Investigation Service Braila, Fraud Investigation Service Prahova and County Inspectorate of Gendarmerie Galati acted and realized 13 raids aiming to carry out 13 house searches (10 in Galati and 3 in Prahova) and issuing 12 warrants for bringing before Court.
On this occasion, different documents, telecommunication means and white weapons, several goods and amounts of money resulted from the criminal activity (170.000 lei and 4.200 Dollars) were drawn as evidence, being discovered great quantities of cigarettes (more than 56.000 packets of cigarettes, different brands, with stamp from Ukraine and Republic of Moldova).
The total quantity of confiscated cigarettes is 200.498 packets of cigarettes amounting to 793.266 lei.
Also, 3 vehicles were confiscated (1 "Skoda Fabia" vehicle, 1 "Mitsubishi" vehicle, 1 "Toyota" vehicle) amounting to approximately 126.000 lei and a distraint was levied upon 4 apartments.
Detentions
Currently, under the direct coordination of D.I.I.C.O.T. prosecutors - Territorial Office Galati - the border policemen are carrying out investigations for committing "smuggling" crimes and "establishing an organized crime group", acts foreseen and punished by the law in force.
The prejudice created to the Romanian state, calculated by D.R.A.O.V. Galati, at the present moment, is more than 1.600.000 lei.
Six persons were detained based on the ordinance issued by D.I.I.C.O.T. prosecutors - Territorial Service Galati - and were brought before Galati Court on 26.06.2009, which issued preventive arrest warrants for 29 days.
The border policemen, under the coordination of D.I.I.C.O.T. prosecutors, are continuing the investigations in order to establish the entire criminal activity.