Prosecutors from the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), together with officers of the National Investigation Inspectorate (INI), with the support of employees of the National Administration of Penitentiaries conducted 13 searches at Penitentiary No. 9 Pruncul, and in two locations in Chisinau, in a case initiated on the fact of creation and management of a criminal organization.

According to law enforcement officers, prohibited items and substances such as hashish, marijuana and compressed narcotics, mobile phones and accessories for their use, as well as electronic information storage devices and bank cards were found on the spot.

The targeted persons are 11 inmates of Prison No. 9 “Pruncul” aged between 28 and 50 years, convicted of various kinds of crimes such as murder, grievous bodily harm, robbery, burglary, drug trafficking in large quantities and swindling. For their previous crimes, the offenders were sentenced to “heavy years of imprisonment” in closed prisons for terms ranging from 5 to 15 years.

In the penitentiary, they had roles as supervisors of various sectors of the penitentiary, including the canteen, the disciplinary isolator, the accommodation blocks, as well as the interview room and for conducting games of chance, notes the National Police Inspectorate.

Investigations are continuing, during which time those concerned are presumed innocent under the law.