Horațiu Potra, a former fighter in the Foreign Legion, who is said to be coordinating security for Călin Georgescu, has been placed under judicial control for 60 days.
The decision is not final.
Horațiu Potra, 55 years old, publicly presented as a former fighter in the Foreign Legion, was stopped by the police on Sunday morning at 3:00 AM in the commune of Mănești, Prahova County.
He was in a Mercedes G, driven by Andrei Florin Lup, a 22-year-old young man from Mediaș, the city where Potra also comes from. Judicial sources state that the two were heading towards the capital.
- Members of the Potra group prevented from reaching Bucharest with an arsenal of white weapons and pyrotechnic materials. Former member of the Foreign Legion, interrogated
- Who is Horațiu Potra, close to Georgescu: Former mercenary, has an impressive fortune and made over a million euros last year
- The owner of the horse farm where the meeting of mercenaries with Potra took place says that Georgescu also participated
In their car, numerous weapons were found, including a pistol, a tear gas dispersal device resembling a pistol, and the corresponding pepper canister, an F4 category firework subject to authorization, five knives, a boxing device, three knives, two knife blades, a telescopic baton, and various sums of money, including Czech crowns and Congolese francs.
A large-scale police operation took place on Saturday night to Sunday. About 20 people, members of the Potra group, in several cars, were intercepted in traffic in Prahova, Dâmbovița, Ilfov counties, and in Bucharest. They were found with white weapons and pyrotechnic materials and it is presumed they were heading to Bucharest with the intention of disturbing public order and peace.
What is known about Horațiu Potra
- He took about 1,000 former Romanian military personnel to Congo to support the government army
- He fought for five years in the Foreign Legion
- He was an instructor and bodyguard for decades in eight African countries
- Over 20 years ago, he was the chief of the bodyguards of the President of the Central African Republic
- He also worked for the Australian billionaire of Romanian origin, Frank Timiș
- He was accused of ties with Russian mercenaries from Wagner
- In Romania, Potra had a suspended sentence for illegal possession of firearms
- He is known for his pro-Russian posts. He publicly requested that Romania stop sending weapons and ammunition to Ukraine and praised Budapest's position.
- In 2020, he was investigated for threatening a Romgaz director, but the case was closed after the complaint was withdrawn.
- This summer, he ran for the position of mayor of Mediaș city.
- According to his asset declaration, the former fighter in the Foreign Legion is very wealthy. He owns dozens of apartments, dozens of plots of land, 10 kg of gold, half a million dollars, and a quarter of a million euros in accounts. Just last year, he earned over 1 million euros from "physical and specialty training".
Horațiu Potra was taken out in handcuffs on Sunday evening from the Prahova County Police Inspectorate headquarters after several hours of questioning, and was taken to the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Ploiești Court of Appeal (PCA).
Later, he was detained for 24 hours.
On Monday, police officers and prosecutors from Ilfov conducted searches at associates of Horațiu Potra in Sibiu County.