On July 31, intelligence officers of the Antiterrorist Centre jointly with the Bălți Territorial Department found a container with four metal tubes, containing about 20 kilograms of mercury from Ukraine, camouflaged and half-buried in a strip of forest close to a farmland near the village of Fundurii Noi, Glodeni district.
After the detection of toxic substances, SIS employees requested the intervention of the rescue team from the Department for Radiation, Chemical, Medical and Biological Protection of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to take over, examine and decontaminate the storage area.
SIS officers are carrying out operational investigative measures to establish the identity of the individuals who held the mercury capsules, as well as any final beneficiaries of the seized substances.
If the individuals involved in toxic substances storage and transportation are found guilty, they risk a fine amounting from 550 to 950 conventional units or imprisonment for up to 3 years.
Mercury is included in the top ten chemicals of major public health concern, according to the World Health Organization, with a recommendation to avoid direct contact and prolonged exposure.
