The Antiterrorist Center of the SIS jointly with the Technical Supervision Agency carried out unannounced inspections of several authorised economic operators regarding the import and storage of explosive materials and the work with explosives for civil uses.
Following the inspections carried out on the entire territory of the Republic of Moldova, a series of irregularities were identified and documented at three economic operators in terms of storage security and storage conditions of explosive materials.
Thus, the SIS officers established that one of the permanent magazines for explosives had a licence in violation of the legal provisions. Moreover, the experts found the following irregularities: walls made of fragile materials that can be easily broken; lack of appropriate prohibition signs indicating a danger zone for population; malfunction of the fixed and portable alarm buttons; lack of video surveillance system; inefficient lighting system; lack of temperature and humidity control; location of the magazine on the territory of another economic operator with free access for third parties; lack of incident action plan.
The above-mentioned permanent magazine was also located in a residential area, less than 100 meters from the houses, as well as in the immediate vicinity of another economic operator. In this case, the shock wave of an eventual explosion could cover around 1600 meters.
After the inspection carried out at the request of the Security and Intelligence Service, the licence of the economic operator was revoked by the Public Services Agency, while the National Anticorruption Centre was also notified.
Another illegal permanent magazine was found on the territory of a limestone quarry, in the immediate vicinity of a gas pipeline. The magazine did not correspond to the conditions provided by the legal norms and did not have a specialized licence.
As a result of the numerous detected deviations, the SIS Antiterrorist Center convened a working meeting with all economic operators, authorised for this type of activity.
During the meeting, officials raised the topic of irregularities and legal requirements. Also, the economic entities were requested to eliminate irregularities within 30 days and subsequently to inform the authorities with responsibilities in the field.
According to its competences, SIS will continue to monitor explosive materials and their sources, which are outside the legal framework, in order to avoid major damages to national security, people, and environment.
Officers of the Antiterrorist Centre aim to prevent international extremist-terrorist entities from using magazines for explosive materials and transporting them abroad with intentions of committing serious and extremely serious crimes.
In this context, the SIS warns about the need to strictly comply with the legislation and technical requirements regarding import, storage of explosive materials, and work with explosives for civil uses.
Video sequences:
