Lieutenant-general Gheorghe Papuc is suspected of being the head of one of Europe's leading drug running cartels.

Gheorghe Papuc, who is head of the country's law enforcement, is suspected of being the head of one of Europe's leading drug running cartels.Moldova already arrested three high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs on suspicion of involvement in the transportation of the country's largest heroin bust, a 10 million euro load of heroin aimed for the European Union.On Saturday, the arrests were announced by the General Procurator's office of Moldova. The arrested officers are indicted for protecting drug shipments bound for Europe, and they are currently said to be cooperating with investigators. According to sources close to the investigation, they have pointing to their boss, Gheorghe Papuc, as the ring leader of the operation, Vesti reported on Sunday.Lieutenant-general Gheorghe Papuc, 54, has been the minister of the interior of Moldova since 2002. Appointed by Communist strongman Vladimir Voronin just a year he took office, Papuc has been Moldova's highest ranking police officer for six straight years. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova (Ministerul Afacerilor Interne al republicii Moldova) is in charge of the country's police, international collaboration through Interpol, and anti-corruption activities. Moldova is Europe's poorest country and has been identified by international watchdogs as the most corrupt for two years in a row.Last Thursday, traffic police pulled over a minibus for a random routine check and stumbled upon the largest drug haul in the country's history: In the bust, Moldovan police confiscated 200 kg (441 lbs) of heroin with a street value of approximately 10 million euros, Infotag reported.The heroin was en-route from Afghanistan, using Moldova as an entry-point to Europe. Moldova borders the European Union and a visa free regime is currently being re-established with Romania, which Moldova was a part of until 1940.According to news agency Vesti, police detained three people in the operation, including Turkish citizen Murat Kalarar. An investigation aimed at establishing the involvement of others led them to high-ranking officials in the Moldovan government. Investigators uncovered a cartel-like operation where high ranking Moldovan police provided protection to drug smugglers by ensuring the safety of the transportation of narcotics through the country.
However, as more details became known, the investigation was halted on orders from police headquarters in Chisinau. The original arresting officers were also removed from their jobs.
Due to the involvement of the leadership of Moldova's national police, the investigation had to be carried out by Moldova's secret service, the Information and Security Service (SIB, by its local initials), who quickly closed in on Interior Minister Gheorghe Papuc. The minister himself has currently been placed under house arrest with Secret Service officers standing guard around-the-clock.
Moldova, Europe's poorest country, is frequently described as a "black hole" and there is fear it may be turning into a narco-state.
This is not the first time the high-ranking law enforcement officer finds himself in trouble with the law. Shortly after he took office, the press revealed that Gheorghe Papuc used fake university certificates to pad his resume, including one which allegedly had him graduate from university with a law decree at age 38.
Two Moldovan newspapers, “Kommersant Moldovi” and “Accente”, were closed by the government after publishing details of the fake certificates. According to an independent journalistic investigation by the Pro TV channel they were purchased by Papuc to advance his career. These truthfulness of the published facts have been confirmed by deposed minister of Security, Tudor Botnaru.
Papuc was investigated in 1995 for forgery. According to documents made public by Pro TV, Papuc also committed other crimes: “Being in charge of various divisions, he used to take possession of certain goods: construction materials, confiscated armament, accompanied cargo vehicles for a charge etc. Having a number of passports on him, he conducted illegal operations with real-estate goods and automobiles. Moreover, "he owned 4-5 real-estate properties and 3 automobiles at the same time under different names”, according to written information resulting from an investigation by the FSB, Russia's Secret Service.
A biography placed on the Moldovan government's official website claimed that Papuc holds three university degrees. This section of the biography of Gheorghe Papuc disappeared from the Moldovan government's website overnight. A former English version of the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has also been removed.
There have been no reported cases of drug smuggling involving the authorities 'de facto' independent republic of Pridnestrovie (also known as Transnistria or Transdniester, in English).