Police in Romania have detained several people as they headed toward Bucharest carrying guns, machetes, and knives to allegedly "disrupt public order and peace," authorities said on December 8.
At least 13 people were being questioned by law enforcement agencies after their vehicles were stopped overnight in the Ilfov county, police sources told RFE/RL.
Authorities did not release the names of those in custody but according to sources at the judiciary, among them is Horatiu Potra, leader of the contingent of Romanian private military contractors fighting in the African nation of Congo.
Ilfov police said a criminal probe has been launched into the issue.
According to Romanian media, Potra was sentenced to two years in prison with a suspended sentence in 2011 after being found guilty of founding a paramilitary group.
State news agency Agerpres published a photo of Potra being escorted by several armed officers as he was being taken for questioning, according to the agency.
The arrests came as dozens of supporters of Romania’s far-right, pro-Russian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu were preparing to stage a protest in Bucharest after a runoff vote -- scheduled for December 8 -- was scrapped by the country's Constitutional Court.
The rally took place without incident with Georgescu in attendance.
"I came only with flowers and prayer," he told those gathered in Mogosoaia, just outside Bucharest.
"I am not calling on anyone to do anything, it is a moment of silence," he added.
