PNL's Bode: All containers coming from South America to the Port of Constanta are checked
National Liberal Party (PNL) secretary general Lucian Bode, former Minister of the Interior, said on Monday that, according to official information in his possession, all containers coming from South America to the Port of Constanta are being checked, mentioning that there is the problem of the lack of scanners, told Agerpres.
"Related to the Port of Constanta, in 2021, 1.5 tonnes of heroin were seized in the Port of Constanta, worth about 45 million euros. This catch was not managed in a few days, in a few weeks, it was the fruit of the work of Romanian and foreign law enforcement agencies for months, maybe even years. The same, I am convinced, is happening now. There are operations that are carried out in partnership, between the Romanian state bodies and partners in Europe and outside Europe, which will certainly yield results," said Bode, when asked about the fact that not a single gram of drugs has been identified in the Port of Constanta in the last two years.
The former minister pointed out that, according to the results of the controls of the last two years, approximately 700,000 containers are processed annually in the Port of Constanta, according to the European Directive, and 3% of them must be checked.
"I want to tell you, from official sources, the information I have from the management of the Port of Constanta, all containers coming from South America are checked, absolutely all of them. We really have a problem and we have to admit, the problem is the lack of scanners, we have only one scanner and that one is old and it would be necessary to have 4 scanners - 2 for each main gate. So, this story that not one gram of cocaine or drugs has been identified in the last two years is one that can be looked at in the following way: the operations that are carried out to identify, catch and break down these networks over time, I don't know how many grams of drugs have been identified from checking the containers with that scanner. I'm guessing none. These large quantities, hundreds of kilograms, tonnes of drugs, are discovered as a result of specific law enforcement operations," Bode said.
He also said that he has confidence in the Port of Constanta and that all those who work in this area are doing their job.