The Greek police have carried out another operation against the Turkish mafia operating in the country, 11 people have been arrested in Athens and Thessaloniki, weapons and drugs have been confiscated, the Kathimerini newspaper reported.
According to her, 10 Turkish citizens and one Lebanese citizen have been arrested during police operations, and another 12 suspects have been detained. Arrests and detentions at residence and round-ups of Turkish citizens have been carried out in Athens and Thessaloniki with the aim of liquidating criminal groups linked to the Turkish mafia. A case has been opened against those arrested for falsifying documents and violating the laws on weapons, drugs and foreigners.
This is the second large-scale operation recently against criminals of Turkish nationality. On December 11, several people were arrested and 49 guns and drugs were seized during a police operation in the metropolitan area of Attica and Thessaloniki. The arrests came two days after the murder of two Turks in the Athens coastal district of Glyfada, who were shot dead by unknown assailants with guns near a supermarket.
The Proto Thema newspaper noted at the time that following the murder of two Turks in Glyfada, the Greek Intelligence and Counterintelligence Service (EYP) had provided the police with information about the existence of Turkish groups in Greece. The arrests were made following information received from EYP.