Raids in the destabilization and mass disorder case in Moldova
Authorities conducted over fifty searches on Thursday, December 4th, throughout the Republic of Moldova as part of a criminal investigation into preparations for destabilization and mass disorder. The General Police Inspectorate reports that the case also involves the travel and training in Serbia during the summer and autumn of this year by suspects who allegedly received instruction to orchestrate destabilizing actions in Moldova.
Searches are ongoing, and authorities plan to release more details throughout the day.
On December 3, prosecutors sent five additional defendants to trial. These individuals allegedly trained in Bosnia and Herzegovina to prepare for planned mass disorder surrounding Moldova’s 2024 presidential election and referendum. The five defendants, aged between 27 and 50, reportedly received training in destabilization tactics, drone piloting, and methods for creating panic in public spaces.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases, the group includes one Finnish citizen and four Moldovan citizens from Chișinău, Criuleni, and Tighina. Investigators also identified two co-organizers who coordinated subgroups of protesters at destabilizing public events; both remain under house arrest.
Investigators have stated that three of the defendants were recruited during a sports training session in Valea Trandafirilor Park by another defendant who is already on trial. She allegedly offered them paid sports training in Romania, with weekly payments between four hundred and five hundred dollars sent through cryptocurrency wallets. The other two defendants agreed to join after discussions on Telegram and Yandex.
After arriving in Romania, the group continued their route to Bosnia and Herzegovina. There, the defendants lost access to their passports and phones. They reported staying in a forest camp equipped with tents and tables with computers, where other participants were trained in drone piloting. Russian speakers trained them for one to two weeks in drone piloting, panic tactics, strategies for breaching police lines, and the use of incendiary items.
Upon their return to Moldova, authorities detained all five at the border. During searches, officers found mini-drones equipped with cameras and dropping mechanisms, pyrotechnic devices, drone parts, VR goggles, and radio control equipment on the female defendant.
Additionally, officers seized nearly three hundred discriminatory leaflets from another defendant. These leaflets promoted intolerance and hostility among followers of different religious groups. The Equality Council noted in an opinion issued on October 16, 2025, that the leaflets contained images and expressions that incited hatred, rejection, and division. The materials included photos of the candidate who later won the presidential election alongside a Moldovan metropolitan.
The Finnish citizen stated that the cousin who recruited him claimed that the documents he transported would help a church in Moldova.
Following court decisions, the two co-organizers remain under house arrest, while the other defendants are under judicial control.
Prosecutors also noted that in a related case from September 2024, a court convicted seven men for mass disorder and recently sent five more people to trial, including one defendant who was sanctioned in Europe for vandalizing buildings in Paris.
