8 tons of ethylic alcohol were detained in a joint operation carried out by border policemen and Ukrainian border guards, this morning, on the direction of the localities Taraclia - Ogorodnoe. The persons involved in criminal activity have been caught red-handed while pumping the alcohol through hoses from the territory of the Republic of Moldova to Ukraine.

Today, July 22, the employees of Copceac Border Police Sector, due to the exchange of information with colleagues from Ukraine, held a special action of monitoring and retaining a group of persons suspected of smuggling alcohol across the state border. Thus, the representatives of the border authorities of those two states have surveyed for a period the actions of the persons concerned, during which they were able to prepare all the tools for illegal activity. By the time of detention, those three men had managed to pump 4 tons of alcohol in Ukraine, another 4 tons - were to be transported.

During the research it was found that those detained are two Moldovan citizens and one Ukrainian. Also were detected two transport units, a Mercedes 711D, registered in Bulgaria, and a GAZ 53, which contained the recipients and the pumps. The transport means and the persons involved were detained.

In the framework of the investigations, the vehicles and the amount of alcohol has been recognized as the corpus delicti and at the moment the officers of special investigations and prosecution of the Border Police in common with their counterparts from Ukraine investigate the case objectively, fully and in all respects to accumulate the evidences.
If the men are found guilty they risk to be jailed for a term of 3-10 years, according to Article 248, paragraph 5 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Moldova.