Fifteen Police, Customs Workers In SW Romania Detained On Corruption Charges

Those detained are accused of bribery and participation in an organized criminal group.

Earlier Wednesday, 30 border police and customs officers at border crossing points in western Romania were detained following ample raids and five others will be investigated at large. They are suspected of smuggling large quantities of cigarettes into Romania from neighboring Serbia, and face charges of bribery and facilitating smuggling, prosecutors said.

The Bucharest Court of Appeals has issued 29-day preventive arrest warrants for 15 of those detained Wednesday.

Last week, 59 border police and customs employees at the Siret crossing in northeastern Romania, on the border with Ukraine, were arrested on the same charges.