Ruslan Cucu, head of the Anti-Drug Directorate of the Republic of Moldova, announced that 40% of the drug market is controlled by a criminal group from an EU state, involving minors in distribution.

Ruslan Cucu, head of the Antidrug Directorate of the National Investigation Inspectorate, stated that over 40% of the drug market in the Republic of Moldova is controlled by an organized criminal group, coordinated from a state of the European Union. He mentioned that two individuals affiliated with the group have been arrested, one of whom has already been extradited to Moldova. The criminal group manages the transport and sale of drugs through Telegram, a platform to which authorities have sent over 180 inquiries without response.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, drug flows to Moldova have intensified, and some groups have opened laboratories for the production of synthetic drugs in the EU. A frequently used method by traffickers is sending narcotics through unregistered packages. Cucu emphasized a major concern regarding the involvement of minors in drug distribution, mentioning that adolescents aged between 15 and 18 are often used, and authorities choose not to arrest them to give them a chance for rehabilitation.

The emergence of new drugs, such as MPS, which cause rapid addiction, represents a serious problem. Psychologists from the Republican Narcology Dispensary have observed a slight increase in the number of individuals under supervision, from 12,032 in 2023 to 12,200 in 2024. Recently, the police confiscated drugs worth over 20 million lei, equivalent to almost one million euros, and initiated 15 criminal cases, documenting 78 administrative violations.