Romanian prosecutors uncover false intelligence officer recruiting reservists for alleged missions

Romanian prosecutors within the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) executed several searches on Wednesday, October 22, following the discovery of a man who, while claiming to be a captain in the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), had created his own network for surveillance and investigation.

The man allegedly recruited former employees of the Defense Ministry to participate in several surveillance and intelligence-gathering missions. On multiple occasions, his team interacted with the Romanian Police or the Local Police. On these occasions, they identified themselves as operatives of the intelligence service.

To uncover the network, prosecutors performed searches in the counties of Arad, Timiș, Bihor, and Hunedoara.

“From the evidence collected, it resulted that a suspect presented himself as an employee of the Romanian Intelligence Service, part of a secret structure with responsibilities in intelligence gathering and the transport of classified correspondence, to obtain fraudulent material benefits,” according to the DIICOT press release.

The man created a network of “persons in possession of self-defense and security weapons, some former combatants in operational theaters who, for various reasons, had left the Special Forces of the Ministry of National Defense, others passionate about firearms who practice at authorized civilian shooting ranges, to whom he presented himself as an SRI captain,” according to prosecutors.

The “recruits” were subjected to operational and stress-resistance tests to strengthen their belief that the suspect was indeed an intelligence officer. After completing the recruitment and verification procedure, they were handed IDs with SRI-specific insignia.

To travel to various locations, the suspects rented vehicles on which they mounted sirens. In this way, the man and six recruits participated in alleged missions in the counties of Arad, Timiș, Constanța, Satu Mare, Bihor, Mureș, and Bucharest.

The “missions” involved following and identifying ‘suspect’ persons, collecting water samples from various areas, tracking wanted persons, and taking photographs inside certain objectives. In this context, they interacted and coordinated with employees of the police, local police, and other structures, presenting themselves and identifying as SRI employees.

Additionally, during the execution of the alleged missions, they were asked to carry their personal firearms, if they had a carrying permit, and were provided with communication stations similar to those used by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or Ministry of National Defense, but with the Romanian Intelligence Service logo.