50-year-old man accused of heading gang of 23 members in Brăila
A 50-year-old man is suspected of coordinating a criminal organisation with 23 members, operating in Brăila and Galați. The group is under investigation for four attempted murders, loan sharking, human trafficking and money laundering.
50-year-old man accused of heading gang of 23 members in Brăila
On Thursday morning, a large-scale operation by DIICOT prosecutors was carried out at 29 locations in Brăila and Galați counties, including in a detention facility. The target: members of a criminal group led by a 50-year-old man. The information comes from an investigation documented by Adevărul.
According to the indictment, from 2021 to the present, three individuals established the foundations of a criminal structure in the municipality of Brăila. Subsequently, another 20 participants joined. All operated under the authority of the leader, a 50-year-old individual, seeking to commit serious crimes against persons and obtain material benefits from loans granted without any legal approval.
Each participant had a precise role within the group's hierarchy. Some handled recovery of borrowed sums, others participated in acts of violence or intervened to protect members when they had problems with the authorities.
Investigators link four attempted murders and multiple assaults committed in recent years to this gang's activities. The extreme violence had a specific purpose: to intimidate adversaries and help the group maintain control over the area. The blows applied, objects used and anatomical areas targeted could have led to the death of the victims. The victims' survival was due solely to medical intervention and personal reactions, not to the assailants' intentions.
An essential component of the criminal activities was the granting of loans with interest. The leader offered sums of money without authorisation, charging weekly or monthly interest. Debtors were forced to provide collateral — homes, land or luxury vehicles. Those who delayed payments were threatened and subjected to psychological pressure to settle. The same practice was used by other members of the group.
To conceal the illicit origin of the money, the leader would have transferred expensive properties and vehicles into the names of relatives, although he continued to use them and be the actual beneficiary.
The file also includes allegations of human trafficking. Two of the members allegedly recruited two young women using the "loverboy" method. Initially they gained their trust by promising them a relationship, then psychologically coerced them into prostitution in Switzerland and Austria. One of the victims was moved successively through several cities in Romania before being sent abroad.
After committing the offences, gang members attempted to contact victims to convince them not to file complaints or to change their statements before investigators.
Source: Google News RO — Crime (ro)