Prosecutors from the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), together with officers from the National Investigation Inspectorate (INI), completed searches on Friday, November 11, conducted in Chisinau and Hincesti, in the criminal case on “preparation of mass riots”, resulting in the seizure of over 250 thousand lei and other evidence.

“Law enforcement officials have grounds to suspect that the money collected was accumulated from illegal activities. It was to be used for recruitment, organization, transportation and remuneration of persons instigated to implement mass disorder actions,” according to a statement by the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG).

According to the PG, among the items seized in the searches are draft notes containing telephone contacts of people participating in the protests, mobile phones, an unregistered pneumatic pistol, pyrotechnic articles (firecrackers) and hemp-like plant mass. The evidence seized will be examined and cross-checked with other evidence in the criminal case file.

The file concerns preparations for mass riots from 18 September 2022 to the present.

“The investigations are taking place in view of the fact that, contrary to the Law on Assemblies, preparations for mass riots were allegedly carried out, including the transportation from different regions of the country to Chisinau of several persons, especially young people, including previously convicted persons, instigated to commit new crimes. As for other roles within the organised criminal group, these related to the recruitment of people to participate in destabilisation,” prosecutors explain.

Law enforcement officers are continuing their investigations, including with a view to establishing other aspects and gathering further evidence on the activity of the organised criminal group under investigation. According to the law, the crime under investigation is punishable by imprisonment from 4 to 8 years.

Earlier, PCCOCS prosecutors, together with police investigation officers, assigned suspect status to eight persons and seized 380,000 lei and other evidence, following early morning searches on Friday, November 4, in Balti, Chisinau, Drochia and Ungheni, in a file on the preparation of mass riots between September 18 and October 16, 2022, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) announced.

“Law enforcement officials have grounds to suspect that the money raised was accumulated from illicit activities. It was to be used for recruitment, organization, transportation and remuneration of persons instigated to implement mass disorder actions.

In addition, among the items seized during the searches are also draft entries containing lists of persons with telephone contacts, including certain sums indicated, which are presumed to be money paid for the purpose of carrying out the crime under investigation. Moreover, documents were seized that reveal the creation of pseudo authorities aimed at usurping state power, evidence that will be analysed and assessed accordingly,” according to the PG.

The eight suspects, including two women, are aged between 23 and 41 and live in Balti, Chisinau and Drochia and Ungheni districts. According to the PG, they are being investigated for allegedly preparing for mass disorder, contrary to the Law on assemblies, including transporting from different regions of the country to Chisinau several people, especially young people with an athletic body build, including previously convicted persons, instigated to commit new crimes and illegalities: “Mainly, they were co-opted in order to resist violently against law enforcement officers ensuring public order at the demonstrations planned for the immediate future”.

“Moreover, among the suspects are persons who also had the role of identifying police employees, who ensured public order at the protests, in order to intimidate and discredit them. As for other roles within the organized criminal group, they were related to the recruitment of people to participate in destabilizations,” the PG also announced.

Law enforcement officers are continuing investigations, including with a view to establishing other persons within the organised criminal group under investigation. According to the law, the crime under investigation is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 4 to 8 years.

On Friday morning, November 4, employees of the National Investigation Inspectorate (INI) of the IGP, together with prosecutors from the PCCOCS, conducted searches of several figures on a criminal case aimed at preparing mass riots.

The vice-president of the “Șor” party Marina Tauber, who is the target of two criminal cases filed on “knowingly accepting party funding from an organised criminal group” and “falsifying the party’s financial management report”, announced on Friday, November 4, that the home of Dinu Turcanu, who is a party member, was raided. According to sources of Ziarul de Gardă, the raids took place in a criminal case aimed at preparing mass riots.