Ten people have been arrested in Belgium, the Netherlands and Romania in connection with a record amount of heroin seized at the port of Constanta, the Agence France-Presse reported.
On May 20th, the Romanian Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism caught the Black Sea port 1452 kg of heroin hidden in a container with building materials.
According to the EU’s Criminal Justice Cooperation Agency (Eurojust), 10 suspects have been arrested as part of a group of traffickers specializing in the supply of large quantities of heroin to Europe. The leader and one of the members of the group were arrested in the Netherlands, seven other people were arrested in Belgium and one suspect was arrested in Romania, Agerpres said.
Prosecutors from the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DRPOPT), in co-operation with judicial police officers from the Directorate for the Fight against Organized Crime – Drug Enforcement Service, seized in May 1452 kg of heroin – drugs imported into Romania from a criminal group formed by Romanian and foreign nationals, said DRPOPT Deputy Prosecutor General Oana Daniela Patsu. She noted that this is the largest amount of heroin seized by Romanian authorities, and second at EU level in recent years. Heroin is of high purity and its value on the black market exceeds 45 million euros. The drug was transported in a container by sea, which left Iran and had the final destination in Western Europe, said Oana Daniela Patsu.
A company in Belgium was named as the consignee of the container. The group’s leader used a significant number of trading companies in Europe as a cover for drug trafficking, which allowed him to supply large quantities of heroin.
The action of DRPOPT was carried out with the support of the judicial authorities of Hungary, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and France. Eurojust, Europol and the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) were also involved in the operation.
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