According to them, Papuc’s name has not yet been cited in the dossier, in which he is suspected of not declaring to customs weapons which he had received or offered whilst on official visits he made whilst he was a minister between 2002-2008.

Information abut a new case on smuggling in Chişinău in which Papuc’s name is mentioned (the so-called ‘Cocaine Dossier’) coincides with the discovery in Romania of one of the most widespread networks of drugs and cigarette dealers that have been operating all over the world. During this investigation the inquiry was carried out with the participation of a group of specialists from the USA and from countries from the European Union.

According to the Romanian press, this international network was exposed after an eight-month investigation. Romanian police from the Customs Office and officers from the Department of Information gathered sufficient evidence, and, as a result, American officials recently arrested one of the group’s leaders, the Ukrainian Nikolai Dozortsev, also known as ‘Colea’, who lives in New York.

Investigators state that Dozortsev was assisted by Constantin Cardale from Constanţa, Romania, and Iulian Badrajan from Moldova. According to sources in the Moldovan media, this gang of smugglers would frequently meet in Odessa, Ukraine, where Papuc, who owned several houses in the city, would also go. In Odessa the traffickers would then arrange the transportation of cocaine and cigarettes, which would reach the black market of 13 countries; the route the contraband cigarettes would take started in Ukraine and Moldova, with the cocaine arriving from Latin America, before heading to Western Europe and Hong Kong. The profits, totalling millions of euros, were deposited by the gang in banks in Odessa, before being laundered in real estate in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Spain.

Yet out of the 16 members of the group caught in Romania, only Badrajan was in custody for 29 days, the remaining 15 were investigated whilst released on bail.

Asked about some of the possible connections between the contraband dossier in which Papuc’s name is mentioned and the smuggling network discovered in Romania with the help of American and EU officials, a representative of the General Prosecutor’s Office told us that, for now, that they were unable to disclose any information, in order not to harm their inquiries.

Representatives from the Department of Penal Investigation confirmed to us though that Papuc’s name is mentioned in the ‘Cocaine Dossier’, yet state that he went of his own accord to the General Prosecutor’s Office and that soon the file will be submitted to the courts. Three policemen were also arrested during the investigation, who had hoped that the ex-minister would be called as a witness and clear their names of any offence, yet the the prosecutor declared that “the expectations of the policemen were in vain,” although they did confirm that Papuc would be called as a witness.

Papuc has not yet released a statement to the press since his dismissal from government.

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