On the night of February 14, police and special forces from the “Fulger” brigade raided an electronic music event on Hincesti Road in Chisinau, documenting 107 people and taking 19 for drug testing. The event was organized by Olandeep, an artistic collective that has been running parties since 2012. According to the organizers, only three of those tested returned positive results.
The police justified the intervention citing “clear information” about drug use on the premises, and IGP chief Viorel Cernăuțeanu defended the operation, noting that drugs and the smell of cannabis were confirmed on arrival. He compared the ticketed, closed-door event to a drug den.
Participants, however, described a traumatic experience — lights suddenly switched on, masked officers with automatic rifles, mass searches including shoes and underwear, prohibition of filming, and no explanation of what was happening. Event administrator Marina Bernaz reported damages exceeding 100,000 lei and said organizers were given no official communication. Attendee Arina said: “I felt stigmatized and humiliated. Do I have to be afraid now because I like electronic music and go dancing at night?“
Human rights expert Andrei Lutenco described the action as “disproportionate and absolutely unnecessary,” questioning whether the results justified deploying special forces for what amounted to a misdemeanor — private drug consumption. He raised concern that collective punishment was applied based on presumption rather than individual evidence, and flagged that if rape allegations were used as a pretext for a drug raid, it would be “very problematic.”
The incident has galvanized Chisinau’s independent cultural community, who announced a protest outside the Ministry of Internal Affairs on February 20. Entrepreneur Bogdan Babii drew parallels with Georgia’s 2018 Bassiani club raid, where a similar police intervention triggered mass protests and demands for reform, arguing that Moldova’s electronic music scene represents the same pro-European, creative generation that the state should be supporting, not alienating.
Protesters are not calling for a lawless environment, but for clear intervention protocols, an end to collective punishment, and legal recognition of electronic music as culture. They point to Western models — Berlin’s Berghain holding cultural institution status, Amsterdam and London appointing “Night Mayors” — as evidence that harm reduction and dialogue are more effective than mass raids.
The results of the narcological tests had not been officially published at the time of writing.
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