Anaesthetist from Vatra Dornei arrested after injecting drugs during operations
Iulian-Corneliu Ciocîrlan, a 39-year-old anaesthetist, was remanded in custody after being caught injecting fentanyl and morphine during surgical procedures.
Anaesthetist arrested in Vatra Dornei: injecting fentanyl and morphine during operations
Iulian-Corneliu Ciocîrlan, a 39-year-old anaesthetist from Vatra Dornei, has been remanded in custody after investigators caught him red-handed injecting narcotic substances within the hospital premises, including during surgical procedures. According to tvrinfo.ro, he had been under court supervision since 2021, but is alleged to have continued consuming high-risk drugs.
The Suceava Court ordered, on 26 May, at the request of prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), the replacement of court supervision with remand in custody. Ciocîrlan contested the decision, but the Suceava Court of Appeal rejected Tuesday's appeal as unfounded.
"Rejects, as unfounded, the appeal filed by defendant Ciocîrlan Iulian Corneliu against ruling no. 90 of 26.05.2026 issued by the judge for rights and freedoms of the Suceava Court – Criminal Division", the Court of Appeal's decision states.
The doctor is accused of possession of high-risk drugs for personal consumption, in the form of repeated offence, and embezzlement in the form of repeated offence. According to investigators, in the period June 2025 to 24 April 2026, Ciocîrlan is alleged to have appropriated from the hospital pharmacy vials of Fentanyl, Morphine and Pethidine — substances with special status — taking advantage of his position as an anaesthetist.
The Romanian Police reported that, on the morning of 24 April, during a surgical operation, the doctor allegedly took a vial of morphine and one of Mialgin, left the operating theatre several times in breach of medical protocols and went to the hospital's washroom, where he is alleged to have injected the contents of the Mialgin vial. He was caught red-handed, with both the used vial and a sealed one in his possession.
Investigators further established that, in at least one previous case, the anaesthetist is alleged to have abandoned the operating theatre while the patient was still under the effects of anaesthesia and the procedure was ongoing, in order to inject the narcotic substance at the washroom. During a physical examination, the doctor showed puncture wounds on his forearms.
In addition, evidence from the criminal investigation revealed that, in the period November 2024 to June 2025, Ciocîrlan is alleged to have obtained, for personal consumption, quantities of ADB-BUTINACA from a person who had already been sent to trial under remand in custody, in March 2026, by DIICOT prosecutors in Suceava.
The case is registered under number 1691/86/2026 at the Suceava Court. Information regarding the court's decision was sourced from Agerpres.
Source: Google News RO — Crime (ro)