Offices of the South Section of the National Investigations Inspectorate, in cooperation with employees of the Cahul Police Inspectorate, identified a minibus transporting contraband cigarettes to the value of about 1 million lei near Cucoara village, not far from the border. Initially, the driver refused to stop, IPN reports, quoting a communiqué of the General Police Inspectorate.
Running away from the police, the driver intentionally struck the police car. But he was soon caught. The 30-year-old man is from Vadul lui Isac village of Cahul district. When checking the minibus, the police found a wide range of cigarettes of national makes with excise stamps to the value of about 1 million lei.
The police established that the man had an accomplice who intended to smuggle the cigarettes into Romania over the Prut River. A vehicle with two inflatable boats in the trunk was identified in the border area, near Cocoara village.
The driver was arrested for 72 hours. He faces 3 to 15 years in jail.
