Romanian criminal group investigated for illegally selling EUR 12 mln worth of drugs online

Prosecutors from the Directorate for Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) and police officers carried out dozens of home searches on Thursday, January 25, in a case targeting a local organized crime group that allegedly sold online some EUR 12 million worth of dugs such as Xanax or Codeine, with the help of pharmacists. The prosecutors carried out a total of 47 home searches in Cluj, Neamt and Bistrita-Nasaud counties, at members of the criminal group accused of drug and high risk drug trafficking. DIICOT prosecutors say that, between 2012 and 2017, the organized crime group based in Cluj-Napoca sold online, especially in the U.S., drugs that are under special control, such as Codeine, Xanax, Dormicum, Ultracod, Zolpidem, and Diazepam. They managed to get these drugs with the help of pharmacists from Cluj and Bistrita, using fake prescriptions. They were taking orders from clients online, using so-called pharmacy websites, through a call center based in Cluj. The group members were simulating medical checks, making their clients believe that they were being consulted by a real physician, and thus convincing them to place the orders. To get the drugs, the customers were asked to pay the money in advance, through money transfer services or in Bitcoin. “After the payment, some members of the group were going to pick up the money transferred by the clients while others were shipping the drugs (especially in the U.S.) by post, in the form of postal letters (to conceal that, in fact, the pharmaceutical products were shipped illegally),” reads a press release from DIICOT. The amounts of money, usually EUR or USD, were deposited in various accounts of companies based in the country and abroad. Then, through a complex circuit, the criminal group managed to hide the real source of the money and reintroduce it into the economic circuit as apparently legally acquired revenue. Through this circuit, the organized crime group managed to obtain about RON 55 million (some EUR 12 million), the prosecutors said. Record jail sentences in record drug bust case in Romania Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com (photo source: Diicot.ro)