The Romanian Border Police permanently conducts control and verification missions at crossing points and in the area of competence, to prevent the introduction into the country or transit through national territory of vehicles stolen or wanted by authorities abroad.
As a result of these activities, 135 vehicles and equipment were discovered that were of interest to international authorities, including:
- 113 cars,
- 10 trucks,
- 6 minibuses,
- 1 motorcycle,
- 1 trailer,
- 4 agricultural/construction equipment.
Mode of operation and routes used
The vehicles are, in most cases, luxury or middle-class, registered in Western European and Nordic countries and are sought for confiscation or as objects of legal litigation. Criminals use various methods to conceal their origin, such as:
- false or falsified documents (registration certificates, invoices, sales and purchase deeds),
- changed license plates,
- transport on platforms or in containers, especially through seaports.
International cooperation
The Romanian Border Police constantly acts in cooperation with similar institutions from EU member states and third countries, using international databases (SIS – Schengen Information System, Interpol, national databases of the states issuing alerts). The exchange of data and operational information is carried out through the Border Contact Points and Centers.
Significant cases:
- Nădlac (31.07.2025): following some checks, the border police checked a minibus registered in Bulgaria, which was transporting two cars on the platform. The driver, a Bulgarian citizen, presented non-compliant documents. The checks showed that one of the vehicles – a luxury car valued at approximately 225,000 euros – was listed as “wanted property for confiscation”, an alert introduced by the Swiss authorities.
- Port of Constanta (18.03.2025): Border police officers from the Coast Guard discovered two luxury cars, with fake numbers and documents, prepared for export to Turkey. The vehicles, with Lithuanian license plates and in the possession of two Belarusian citizens, were not registered, had license plates belonging to other cars, and the related documents were fake. The cars, valued at approximately 1 million lei, were impounded.
- Nădlac and Borș (27.06.2025): during unsystematic checks, border police officers detected two agricultural and two construction equipment, transported in two trucks driven by Romanian citizens. For these goods, with a total value of over 270,000 euros, the drivers were unable to present documents of origin.
Recent cases
In August 2025 alone, border police confiscated several luxury cars, worth a total of over 500,000 euros , reported by authorities in Austria, Denmark, Norway, Poland and Spain.
Measures taken
In all cases, the vehicles were impounded at the Border Police headquarters until the legal situation was clarified, and criminal cases were filed against the persons involved for crimes such as: concealment, use of forgery, forgery of documents or other related crimes.
Conclusion
The Romanian Border Police remains an active and trusted partner in combating cross-border crime, contributing through its activity to protecting the European area of free movement, recovering assets derived from crimes and deterring organized crime networks.