BUCHAREST — An anti-graft raid in Romania on Monday targetted a top
internal affairs ministry official and a customs checkpoint in
Constanta, Romania’s main Black Sea harbour, prosecutors and media said.
The
internal affairs ministry’s general secretary, Laurentiu Mironescu,
confirmed to the Agerpres news agency that his house was searched.
The operation targets smuggling and tax evasion, judicial sources told Romanian news agencies.
“There
is a raid going on at the checkpoint of Constanta South/Agigea. There
are also searches carried out at houses,” a spokeswoman for the
anti-corruption prosecutors told AFP without elaborating.
Since January, Romania launched the biggest clean-up operation of its customs and border police in years.
Dozens
of border officials were arrested in just a few weeks at crossings with
Moldova, Ukraine and Serbia and indicted for receiving thousands of
euros in bribes from cigarette smugglers.
Some 234 among them will face trial in the coming weeks and Romania’s customs chief Radu Marginean has been sacked.
The
Balkan nation had hoped to join the visa-free Schengen area in March
2011 but countries such as France and Germany blocked its entry,
stressing that Bucharest must make more progress in the fight against
corruption.
Romania still hopes to join the Schengen zone in 2011.
Copyright © 2011 AFP
