The SIS officers jointly with the PCCOCS prosecutors and with the support of the Border Police detained five men from the Briceni district for facilitating the illegal entry of men from Ukraine into the Republic of Moldova outside the border crossing points, in exchange for 3000 USD per person.
The detained persons are aged between 30 and 60. Their leader is also their employer in an agricultural enterprise. They are part of a cross-border organized criminal group and were detained after they transported two Ukrainian men to Chișinău, who were going to transit the Republic of Moldova to the European Union and paid their illegal services with cryptocurrency - the equivalent of about 3000 US dollars for each person.
The five persons were detained on April 3, 2023. During the searches, authorities seized communication devices (mobile phones and radios). After the hearings, the individuals were charged for organizing illegal migration and authorities requested preventive arrest warrants for a period of 30 days.
Investigations continue, during which the detained members of the criminal group are presumed innocent.
