A 26-year-old Moldovan has been detained by the border police as he was trying to cross the frontier with 5,125 packs of cigarettes. He was held up near the western town of Ungheni.

The man ignored the police’s order to stop, so they had to shoot in the air as a sign of warning.

The man carried four parcels of cigarettes assessed at 45,000 Moldovan lei ($2,250.)

He is investigated on parole.