Moldova Shuts Down Bootleg Helicopter Factory

Moldovan officers raid the clandestine helicopter factory in the eastern Criuleni district. Photo: Moldovan Police/Facebook.

The Moldovan Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases and investigators from the Police General Inspectorate closed a clandestine factory in the Criuleni area near the Dniester river in the east of the country on Tuesday that was producing copies of Kamov KA-26 Soviet-type helicopters.

“Over the past several months, the police documented the illegal activity of a well-organised group of people specialising in the production of helicopters,” the Interior Ministry said in a press release.

Searches carried out on Tuesday found that there were over ten helicopters on the production line, at various stages of completion.

Most of the people suspected of being involved in the production and assembly process, including the organisers and heads of the illegal operation, are residents of Moldova’s breakaway Transnistrian region.

Leave a Comment