Record drug seizure: 1.4 tonnes of heroin found in Constanta Port

A record amount of drugs, 1,452 kg of heroin, was found in containers in the Constanta Port, being seized by DIICOT (Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism) together with judicial police officers from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (DCCO) - the Anti-Drug Department, agerpres reports.

"In May, the DIICOT prosecutors, together with the judicial police officers from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime - the Anti-Drug Department, seized the amount of 1,452 kg of heroin, drugs introduced in Romania by a criminal ring of Romanian and foreign citizens. This is the largest quantity of heroin ever seized by the Romanian authorities and is the second largest in the EU in recent years. The drugs, with a high purity, have a black market value of over 45 million euros and they were brought to the Constanta Port in containers that traveled by sea. The heroin was loaded in Iran and was meant for Western European countries," said Oana Daniela Patu, deputy chief prosecutor of DIICOT.

The drugs found in the Constanta Port were hidden in a container in which various construction materials were transported.

Oana Daniela Patu recalled the fact that the Romanian authorities also seized, in 2020, over 4 million pills of captagon and 1.5 tonnes of hashish.

On Thursday, the DIICOT prosecutors and the police officers from the Anti-Drug Department carried out in this case three house searches, on the Romanian territory, and within a European investigation order another 5 searches, on the territory of some Western European states, at the homes of some persons suspected of high-risk drug trafficking and international high-risk drug trafficking.

The action was supported by the judicial authorities of Hungary, Austria, Germany, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and France. Eurojust provided support for the transmission and implementation of instruments of international judicial cooperation and organized a coordination meeting in videoconference.

3 anti-drug officers from DCCO participated in the operation on the territory of Western European states, and in Romania a senior analyst from EUROPOL was present at the searches.

The operation was carried out with the involvement of DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) representatives from the US Embassy, the Constanta Organized Crime Brigade, the Sea Ports Organized Crime Department, the Department for Interventions and Special Operations and specialists from the General Directorate of Customs.