Crime in Moldova

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Crime in Moldova, as everywhere in former Soviet republics, has risen dramatically since the demise of the Soviet Union. Economic and drug-related crimes, the most visible and predictable results of the deteriorating economic situations in the newly independent countries, have simply overwhelmed the human and financial resources devoted to them. Often, however, the problem is more extensive than what is acknowledged: many crimes are not registered. For example, in mid-1995, the Moldovan government stated that overall crime in Moldova had risen by 29 percent over the previous year. However, the number of motorbikes and motor vehicles "being searched for" was thirteen times the number of vehicles listed as "stolen." Illicit cultivation of opium poppies and cannabis is carried out in Moldova, mainly for consumption in CIS countries. In addition, Moldova is a transshipment point for illegal drugs to Western Europe and a source and transit nation in the trafficking in human beings, in particular women and girls into forced prostitution.

[edit] Crime by government

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The annual human rights report from the United States Department of State pinpoints some involvement by government officials and Moldovan law enforcement in human trafficking.

Politically motivated crime in Moldova is also allegedly carried out by the government against its opponents. Recently, 4 members of an opposition group "Equal Rights" were arrested by Moldovan Special Forces. Under police pressure, they were purportedly forced to sign a confession without reading it. It is claimed that police then threatened to plant narcotics on them and to remove their kidneys, to sell them the black organ market. While under arrest, they heard screams of torture from nearby cells.[1]