Romanian prosecutors detain Halmeu border and customs chiefs in bribery probe

Detentions at the Halmeu crossing

Prosecutors from Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) territorial service in Oradea detained nine individuals on 5 October 2026 in an inquiry into organized bribery at the Halmeu border crossing on the border with Ukraine. The detained officials include Babici Adiel Viorel, the chief of the Halmeu Border Police Sector holding the rank of police chief commissioner, and Kis Mihai, the head of the Halmeu Border Customs Office. Seven other border personnel were detained alongside the two leaders, consisting of three border police agents and four customs officers. DNA prosecutors ordered 24-hour detentions for all nine suspects on charges of forming an organized criminal group, continuous bribery, and complicity in continuous bribery. On 6 October 2026, eight of the nine detained individuals were brought before the Bihor Tribunal with requests for 30-day preventive arrest.

Structure of the bribery network

According to DNA investigators, the organized criminal group was established in 2022 to exploit rising road traffic, parcels, and luggage transports entering the European Union from Ukraine. The illicit network functioned across three distinct hierarchical tiers to collect payments from drivers crossing the border into Romania. At the top tier, Babici and Kis coordinated operations and used their administrative authority to place trusted subordinates into shift supervisor positions. The second tier consisted of shift coordinators who gathered funds collected from drivers, retained a cut for themselves, and passed the remaining portion to the station leaders. Shift managers routinely held back approximately 25% of the bribe collections gathered by customs staff before forwarding the money to the customs office chief.

Lane operations and monthly levies

At the base of the pyramid, frontline border police agents and customs officials operated directly at inspection lanes. These officers received sums ranging from 50 euros to 1,900 euros from vehicle drivers in exchange for overlooking regulatory violations, avoiding thorough inspections, or accelerating border clearance procedures. Evidence gathered by investigators indicates that the leaders received regular cash flows from these checkpoint lanes. Between 16 October 2025 and 24 May 2026, Babici received repeated payments totaling 6,450 US dollars, 2,750 euros, and other undue benefits from subordinates. Investigators also found that Babici demanded a fixed monthly levy of 4,000 euros from a subordinate officer in exchange for keeping that officer in their position.

Raids and total suspects

On 5 October 2026, anticorruption prosecutors conducted more than 40 searches at suspects' residences across multiple counties. The raids yielded more than 300,000 euros in cash and foreign currency equivalents generated from the illicit operation. Beyond the nine detained officials, prosecutors placed 38 additional border police officers and customs officials under criminal investigation for forming an organized criminal group and taking bribes as perpetrators or accomplices, bringing the total number of investigated individuals in the case to 47. The detained officers named in the case file include border police agents Herțeg Vasile-Iosif, Vida Remus-Vasile, and Caraba Alin-Gheorghe, as well as customs officials Hendre Nelu-Gheorghe, Urechean Sorin-Flaviu, Gîrba Marius-Adrian, and Șichet Marcel-Dorel.