An 18-year-old man held at Penitentiary No. 13 in Chisinau during half a year had been blackmailed on an invented pretext by a number of detainees who formed part of the criminal organization “Makena”. According to the General Police Inspectorate, the victim was threatened with death and swindled out of €30,000. Six of the nine suspects serve time in Moldova’s jails, IPN reports.
The police found out that the young man was blackmailed and threatened in November 2017. As a result of investigations, it was established that the pressure was exerted by so-called “surveyors” and other prisoners with criminal authority. To obtain money, the suspects offered the victim to sell the house or to get gains illegally.
On January 3, a person was arrested when this received a part of the requested money from an officer under cover. Simultaneously, there were carried out 14 authorized searches, including in three penitentiaries, within which the police seized different objects as evidence. Two members of the group, who were on the outside at that time, were arrested for 30 days. If the blame of the suspects is proven, these will serve 13 to 15 years in jail.
