DIICOT prosecutors and anti-trafficking police carried out 36 searches on Thursday in Bucharest and the counties of Ilfov and Buzău in a case targeting members of the Burtea clan. Charges include forming an organised crime group, human trafficking, pimping, aiding offenders and disclosing classified or non-public service information.

At the same time, 21 home searches took place in Germany — in Nuremberg, Hamburg, Freiburg and Stuttgart — plus a raid at a club in Vienna. Investigators say that since January 2020 a group of about 30 people, led by a 35-year-old man from Bucharest, allegedly sexually exploited some 30 young women in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria.

Victims were reportedly recruited via the “lover boy” method, then coerced through emotional blackmail and violence into prostitution. Proceeds — more than €3 million from money transfers alone, according to the probe — allegedly reached pimps via bank transfers, cash couriers or collection abroad.

Two police officers are also suspects: one allegedly shared details of a victim’s complaint and tried to take over the case to delay it; the other allegedly leaked file information after accessing Interior Ministry databases. Judicial sources also name Mario Danciu, linked to the August 2024 fatal crash in Pantelimon park’s car park, among those under investigation — charges in this case remain at the prosecution stage.

In September 2026 Romania and Germany signed, under Eurojust, a joint investigation team (JIT) agreement. Europol and German police are involved. Arrests and charges are not a conviction; the courts will establish the facts.

Source: Percheziții în România și Germania la membrii clanului Burtea; vizați și doi polițiști (Agerpres); Zeci de percheziții la Clanul Burtea. Doi polițiști, suspectați că ajutau gruparea (Observator)