Horatiu Potra’s armed group of mercenaries with vast experience in destabilization operations and guerrilla tactics was prepared to create chaos in Romania after the December presidential elections were annulled, reveal the documents of the General Prosecutor’s Office prosecutors.
The General Prosecutor’s Office requests the Supreme Court to order the preventive arrest of 21 people accused of committing the offence of attempted actions against the constitutional order.
Of the 21 defendants, 18 have already been detained, and for Horatiu Potra, his son Dorian Potra and his brother – Alexandru Potra, the prosecutors are requesting arrest warrants in absentia.
Thus, the prosecutors are requesting preventive arrest warrants for Vasile Leonard Dragoman, Hauptman Manfred Ioan, Bogdan Florin Lascu, Traian Lechintan, Ioan Lup, Dionisie Moldovan, Ovidiu Claudiu Muresan, Dan Cristian Panta, Daniel Szanto, Constantin Timofti, Claudiu Marian Lapadatu, Marius Samuel Apahidean, Matei Darabant, Iulian Anitei, Mihail Alex Golosiu.
In the case file sent to the court there are intercepts in which Potra discusses with his mercenaries about ways to recruit people to organize destabilizing actions.
Thus, on December 6, 2024, there was an exchange of messages on the RALF group on whatsapp:
„Pilu: This is what Lasconi says to vote for. She’s got the steering wheel backwards, this one.
U.A: Something needs to be done now, we barge in and set them on fire!
I.A: You can’t do that. The fear in them, bro, that this one [Calin Georgescu, editor’s note] will put them in jail if he wins. What do we do, boss? Do we go out?
Horatiu Potra: We wait to see what CG [Calin Georgescu, editor’s note] declares.”
* Horatiu Potra wanted to create chaos with the help of 20 elite mercenaries
The prosecutors maintain that Horatiu Potra and his group of mercenaries were trying to infiltrate the protests organized immediately after the annulment of the elections in order to create chaos.
„The 20 mercenaries who accompanied him in this action are not mere fighters, but his elite core – his closest and most trusted men in Romania at the time, with vast experience in destabilization missions, urban fighting and the use of lethal weapons and explosives. These individuals act in an organized manner, according to well-developed strategic plans, with the ability to execute coordinated attacks and to quickly adapt tactics depending on the reaction of law enforcement,” reads the characterization made by the Prosecutor’s Office.
Potra and the mercenaries who accompanied him were intercepted by the authorities on December 8, 2024, as they were on their way to Bucharest. Subsequently, the judges released Potra.
„The subsequent manner in which the events unfolded indicates that the events of December 7-8, 2024 were only the outpost of premeditated paramilitary actions, the group coordinated by Horatiu Potra being prepared, both tactically and declaratively, to generate violent actions, with the aim of preventing the democratic authorities from exercising state power, generating an imminent risk to national security. (…) The use of mercenaries in such situations presents a major risk, as they are trained for destabilization operations and guerrilla tactics. Unlike regular demonstrators, these individuals have the ability and willingness to use lethal force to achieve their objectives. The key characteristics of the group include experience in conflict zones, as the mercenaries have been active in the Congo, a theater of war characterized by violent confrontations, the use of explosives and urban warfare tactics. They specialize in the use of diversionary techniques, which means that instead of spontaneous protest, the group may use infiltration tactics, provocation of law enforcement and crowd manipulation,” the investigators say.
Moreover, the lack of moral constraints means that mercenaries are guided exclusively by financial and strategic interests, which makes them an extremely dangerous factor of instability.
Investigators searched the homes used by Potra and his associates on Wednesday and discovered a veritable military arsenal: 10 defensive grenades, 19 offensive grenades, a grenade launcher, 15 pistols, 6 submachine guns, a machine pistol, a machine rifle, hundreds of cartridges, explosive materials.
„Their ability to coordinate and attack strategically allows them to use white weapons and pyrotechnics, of the type found on them, not only for their panic effect, but also to cause controlled destruction, disrupt law enforcement intervention and destabilize critical infrastructure. By strategically placing pyrotechnic devices and using urban combat tactics, they could have created a climate of terror, forcing the authorities to react in a way that further fueled chaos and public discontent. At the same time, the dangerousness of the actions that were being prepared derived primarily from the mercenary quality of the participants, their strictly hierarchical organization and absolute loyalty to their leader, Horatiu Potra. Having, at that time, under his direct command more than 290 mercenaries active in Congo, he operates according to structures specific to paramilitary groups, where discipline, subordination and rapid execution of orders are essential,” explain the investigators.
AGERPRES
