47 sedative pills traffickers arrested

An action day jointly carried out by Estonian, Finnish, Romanian, and Serbian law enforcement, supported by Europol and Eurojust, has seen the arrest of 47 drug traffickers. The criminal network sourced large quantities of psychotropic medical tablets in Serbia, trafficked them to Romania and distributed them to Estonia, Finland and Norway to be sold on the streets. The pills seized during the operations carried out by the national authorities have a market value of approximately EUR 12.5 million.  

The two main drugs that were trafficked need to be prescribed by medical professionals and are intended to manage panic and anxiety disorders. As these types of prescription drugs can cause disinhibition, euphoria, and relieve anxiety, they are often misused for recreational purposes. Leading up to the action day, the involved authorities had already arrested several suspects and seized more than two million trafficked pills consisting of two different prescription drugs. The large number of trafficked medicines, which are consumed without medical supervision, could have a significant impact on public health.

Coordinated by Europol, investigators from the involved countries analysed the intelligence that had been collected and identified the members of the criminal network involved in this case. Several accomplices were specialised in financing, organising and personally handling the shipments. Helped by Serbian members of the criminal network, other suspects sourced large quantities of psychotropic tablets from Serbia and clandestinely trafficked them to Romania. From there, the pills were concealed in various ways and transported by Romanian drug mules to Estonia, Finland, or Norway. As a last step, Romanian nationals then peddled the tablets on the street.

Europol’s role

Items seized during the operation include: large quantities of pills, cash, mobile phones, firearms, and luxury cars. In Romania, two houses have been seized. Eurojust, Europol and the involved countries joined forces in a joint investigation team (JIT) in order to dismantle the criminal network. Europol facilitated the overall operation by liaising with the operating authorities, processing the available data and deploying two specialists with mobile offices to support the action day. Eurojust set up a JIT and supported the investigation by ensuring that European Investigation Orders were executed.

Participating authorities:
 

Estonia:

• Northern District Prosecutor’s Office (Põhja Ringkonnaprokuratuur)
• Police (Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet - Põhja prefektuuri kriminaalbüroo, narko- ja organiseeritud kuritegude talitus)

Finland: 

• Customs (Tulli / Tullen)
• National Prosecution Authority, Prosecution District of Southern Finland (Syyttäjälaitos, Etelä-Suomen syyttäjäalue / Åklagarmyndigheten, Södra Finlands åklagardistrikt)
• Police, Helsinki Police Department (Poliisi, Helsingin poliisilaitos / Polisen, Polisinrättningen i Helsingfors)

Romania:

• Central Intelligence Analysis Unit of the Romanian Police (Unitatea Centrală de Analiză a Informațiilor – IGPR)
• Directorate for Investigation of Organised Crime and Terrorism – Oradea Territorial Office, General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (Direcția de Combatere a Criminalității Organizate și Terorism - Biroul Teritorial Oradea – IGPR)
• Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (Direcția de Combatere a Criminalității Organizate)
• Department for Special Operations (Direcția de Operațiuni Speciale)
• General Directorate of Internal Protection (Direcția Generală de Protecție Internă)
• General Inspectorate for Border Police – Bors, Nadlac and Petea Offices (Inspectoratul General al Poliției de Frontiera - Punctele de Trecere Frontiera Borș, Nădlac și Petea)
• Prosecution Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (Parchetul de pe lângă Înalta Curte de Casatie si Justiție)

Serbia:

• Criminal Investigations Diectorate (Uprava kriminalističke policije)
• Department for Combating Organised Drug Smuggling (Odeljenje za suzbijanje organizovanog krijumčarenja droga, Одељење за сузбијање организованог кријумчарења дрога)
• Public Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime (Javno tužlaštvo za organizovani criminal, Јавно тужилаштво за организовани криминал)