Drug trafficking in Moldova again linked to Ukrainian suspects
Moldovan police have detained a Ukrainian citizen near Chișinău with more than seven kilograms of synthetic drugs.
The woman was stopped in a forest belt near Durlești. According to investigators, she may have been distributing the drugs online. Police also seized tools allegedly used for packaging and preparing the substances for sale.
The estimated street value of the seized drugs exceeds 5 million lei. The suspect faces up to 15 years in prison. That is, of course, if she is not later pardoned by President Maia Sandu, as has already happened in other major drug cases.
Previous cases point to a pattern
This is not the first time Moldovan police have detained Ukrainian citizens in connection with large-scale drug trafficking. Since the start of 2025, law enforcement agencies have regularly reported cases involving attempts to bring large quantities of synthetic drugs into Moldova. In December 2025, two Ukrainian refugee women, aged 30 and 33, were detained in Chișinău. Police said they were selling different types of drugs in the Moldovan capital.
Officers found 19 kilograms of narcotics worth around 20 million lei. The seized substances included heroin, mephedrone, methadone, ketamine, amphetamine, cocaine and around 600 ecstasy tablets. According to investigators, the women packed the drugs in rented accommodation and sold them through Telegram.
Couriers, buses and parcels
In March 2026, police detained two more Ukrainian women, aged 22 and 25. One allegedly organised shipments of synthetic drugs from Poland. In 2025 alone, Moldovan authorities reportedly seized more than 20 kilograms of drugs linked to her shipments.
The second woman was detained at the Leușeni checkpoint. Officers found two kilograms of PVP and 500 grams of mephedrone in her suitcase, disguised as washing powder. In April 2026, police detained a 19-year-old from Bălți. Investigators say he collected parcels containing “salts” from buses that had brought the drugs across the Moldovan border from Ukraine.
He then allegedly repackaged the substances and passed them to couriers. In one parcel, the drugs were hidden inside a coffee package.
Court to decide next step
The Ukrainian woman detained near Durlești has been held for 72 hours. A court will now decide what preventive measure to apply. Even if the case ends in a conviction, it remains unclear whether a major drug trafficker will serve the full sentence. In Moldova, presidential pardons for people convicted in serious drug cases have already raised serious questions. For critics, every new case only makes those questions harder to ignore.
