Moldova charges five men for Russian‑made weapons smuggling via Romania
Moldovan prosecutors have charged five men, aged 39‑56 and residing in Chișinău and Dubăsari, with illegal import, possession and attempted export of military weapons. The arms—portable rocket launchers, RPGs, anti‑tank guided missiles and a damaged drone—were brought from Ukraine into Moldova and intended for shipment to Israel in November 2025.
The weapons were concealed in wooden crates equipped with “anti‑scanner” material and falsely declared as black metal sheets. Romanian customs intercepted the cargo, and the arms are now in Romanian custody. The investigation, coordinated by the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) together with Romanian authorities and the National Inspectorate for Security (INI), identified distinct roles within the smuggling network: organizer, logistic assistant, customs broker, exporter and driver. One driver faces a separate investigation in Romania. The seized arms trace back to a Russian factory in Tula.
All five suspects remain in pre‑trial detention, and the criminal code sets a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment for each charge.