Today, on 17.04.2024, in the Port of Mangalia, at the headquarters of the Mangalia Ship Group within the Coast Guard, in the presence of the Secretary of State, General Police Quaestor BOGDAN DESPESCU and the Inspector General of the Romanian Border Police, Police Quaestor CORNEL- LAURIAN STOICA, an event took place through which two airplane-type drones, with vertical take-off, entered the endowment of the Romanian Border Police.
In order to prevent and combat cross-border criminality in all its forms, but also to keep up with the increasingly advanced and diverse technology of those who knowingly break the law, border police officers must use the most efficient and modern equipment, the more more so in the current geo strategic context.
The Romanian Border Police takes another step in the evolution of the capabilities of surveillance and control of the national border by equipping it with two aircraft-type drones, with vertical take-off. The use of this advanced technology represents an important step in strengthening the forces of the Romanian Border Police, to ensure national security and stability in the region.
The two drones were received by the Border Police as a result of a sponsorship from Philip Morris International. Partnership with civil society in combating criminal phenomena is a desire of the institution. Through the project completed today, it is aimed at improving the capacity of state border surveillance and combating illicit traffic in cigarettes mainly, but also combating cross-border criminality in all its forms.
The training of the border guards who operate the drones took place in South Africa for ten days at the headquarters of the equipment manufacturer. The six border police officers, selected from within the territorial structures, went through a complex training program that will allow the use of the aircraft at optimal capacity.
The two aircraft-type drones, with vertical take-off, will create the advantage of effective surveillance by covering areas of up to 150 km, significantly increasing the reaction time through the strategic planning of the crews, who can intervene quickly, complementary to the already existing means of surveillance.
Thus, the new technique will join the 38 unmanned aircraft already in the institution's equipment. The first 7 were equipped in 2018, being completed by another 26 in 2022 and another 5 in 2023, through purchase contracts and donations.
Permanently, the Border Police takes steps to increase the number of licensed operators who fly these aircraft. The intention is to considerably increase the number of drones in the equipment and proportionately the number of licensed personnel.
Last year the border police operating on these aircraft carried out more than 6,500 aerial surveillance missions, which totaled approximately 2,300 flight hours. The result was the detection of more than 400 foreign citizens who tried to cross the border illegally and the preparation of 3 criminal files regarding smuggling, from 2023 until now.
These new aerial overflight capabilities complement the mobile and fixed equipment purchased last year, worth approximately 7.2 million euros, both from European funds and from the state budget, among which we mention the 5 special surveillance vehicles with thermal imaging state-of-the-art, 115 patrol vehicles, 10 fast response craft, as well as portable thermal night vision equipment, forensic kits and more.
All these investments and equipment respond to the new challenges faced by the Romanian Border Police, but also to European policies to improve administrative standards. They naturally complement the operative and strategic capacity of the institution which brings with it the strengthening of security at the Romanian border, but also at the external borders of the European Union.
Although anti-trafficking findings have declined at the northern border over the past two years due to the ongoing conflict, there have still been cases of cigarettes being smuggled across the border with the drone. Also, at the border points, the discoveries were significant. In 2023, 17 trucks with cigarettes and tobacco were discovered.
Last year, 5.5 million packs of cigarettes were confiscated, with a market value of over 95 million lei, and in the first 3 months of this year, approximately 600,000 packs of cigarettes were confiscated, worth over 13 million lei. lei.
We emphasize the fact that the Border Police will continue to be on the front line to combat smuggling, cigarettes being among the most trafficked products at the country's borders.
In the fight against this criminal phenomenon, and not only, we enjoy the support of the other structures within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also from the institutional partners with whom we collaborate. Only together can we identify the best solutions, both from an organizational and operative point of view, but also from a technical point of view, in order to ensure a climate of order and public safety at Romania's borders.
