With the support of the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Moldovan authorities have carried out a coordinated operation targeting a major freon smuggling scheme, resulting in seven searches and the arrest of two individuals.

Acting under the guidance of the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), officers from the Moldovan Customs Service conducted searches in Chișinău and surrounding areas as part of a criminal investigation into the illegal import of tetrafluoroethane (freon), a controlled refrigerant substance.

The investigation revealed that a group of suspects had acted in coordination, each with a clearly defined role, to smuggle freon into the Republic of Moldova under the cover of customs warehouse storage. The scheme was uncovered during routine inspections by the Customs Service’s Mobile Teams, who—supported by EUBAM’s customs expert—identified significant discrepancies between the declared goods and the physical cargo. EUBAM played a crucial role in facilitating intelligence exchange with the Romanian Customs Authority, which helped expose the cross-border nature of the illicit operation. It was found that part of the shipment had been entirely removed, while the rest had been deliberately substituted to match the declared weight. The estimated value of the smuggled freon exceeds 600,000 Moldovan lei (approximately EUR 118,000).

As a result of the operation, law enforcement officers seized electronic storage devices, mobile phones, and handwritten documents relevant to the case. Two Moldovan nationals, aged 46 and 62, have been placed in preventive detention for 30 days by court order.

This joint effort highlights EUBAM’s continued commitment to strengthening the capacity of Moldovan border and customs authorities to detect and prevent cross-border crime, in line with EU standards and best practices.

Photo credits: Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova