​Former police intelligence boss, a fan of ayahuasca "tea", arrested in case of massive use of high risk drugs

A former head of an intelligence department of Romania’s Interior Ministry, his partner and a British citizens have been retained for 30 days in a drug trafficking case, judicial sources have told news agency Mediafax. Gelu Oltean, former head of DIPI, a section that used to answer to the Ministry before its restructuring several years ago, is also facing a separate inquiry by anti-graft prosecutors.

Sources quoted by another agency, Agerpres, said Gelu Oltean has allegedly organised sessions for consumption of drugs including DMT, a strong halucinogenic drug. The sessions were reportedly attended by dozens of people sometimes, each paying about 500 euro.

DMT is a strong psychoactive substance which can be found in an ingredient of the shamanic ayahuasca brew used by South American tribes.

The body investigating trafficking cases in Romania DIICOT did not name suspects. It only reported three people accused of organising such parties were retained. It said the parties took place in the county of Dambovita.

Early this year, Oltean defended the use of the Ayahuasca „tea” in an interview with newspaper Evenimentul Zilei, where he called the brew a „treatment for the purification of the soul, mind and body, which changes anybody, not just me”.

Oltean headed the DIPI/DGIPI service of the interior ministry between 2012-2014. The service, which had faced major opposition over its activities, went on to be reorganised a couple of years later. In 2016, antigraft prosecutors announced several DIPI heads including Oltean were placed under inquiry over embezzlement and abuse in office charges.