Moldovan mobster Iurie Radulov arrested in Turkey, extradition request pending

Iurie Radulov, infamous in Moldova’s underworld as “Babior,” was captured by Turkish police following an INTERPOL alert. He had escaped Moldova in March 2025 after being conditionally released under an amnesty amendment promoted by former PAS deputy Olesea Stamate, which sparked a political scandal and led to her expulsion from the party. Radulov, serving a life sentence for ten murders and eleven attempted murders, had previously been apprehended in Bulgaria and handed over to Moldovan authorities.

The Turkish detention revives Moldova’s effort to extradite him. Investigators also note his early-1990s activities in Romania, where he was linked to Alexandru Ilie and helped form a violent criminal group that was later dismantled.