Raid at Ploieşti customs point

The head of the Ploieşti customs point, Cornel Costea, was apprehended by the National Anticorruption Directorate Prosecutors.

According to Simona Uţă, Radio Romania correspondent, the activity at the customs point has not been stopped, but an employee’s car has been searched.

The raids focus on companies that import and export vegetables and fruit and also on employees of the Customs National Authority who have allegedly accepted bribe.

Cornel Costea, the head of the Ploieşti customs point, was apprehended by the National Anticorruption Directorate Prosecutors on Thursday and taken to the Bucharest headquarters.

The NAD prosecutors arrived at the customs point early yesterday morning and searched the car and the office of the manager, where several writings were taken from without stopping the activity at the customs point

Upon leaving the customs point, neither investigators nor the manager gave any statements.

Until now, none of the charges that Cornel Costea, manager of the Ploieşti customs point for only six months now, is being accused of has been made public.

On Wednesday, the Bucharest Court of Appeal decided the preventive arrest of seven other border police officers from the Albiţa customs whose retaining orders expired on Tuesday.
It has also been decided that Daniel Horban, customs director, and seven other police officers will be investigated without being arrested, but they are forbidden from leaving the country.

32 preventive arrest warrants have been issued in the corruption case at Albiţa, out of the 40 border police officers that have been retained for accepting bribe and aiding an organized criminal group.

The decisions are not definite; they can be appealed at the supreme judge.

They are being accused by the NAD prosecutors that during November 2010 and January 2011 they demanded bribe in order to turn a blind eye to criminal acts and irregularities at the Romanian border.

Apart from them, 59 police officers and customs officers at Moraviţa and 92 at Naidăş have been preventively arrested.

Translated by: Gabriela Lungu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University