The “war” of Turkish gangs in Greece – Living lavishly, shooting for… fun

In recent months, Greece has become a battleground for rival criminal groups from Turkey, with the list of casualties growing rapidly and being “enriched” with new victim names. What unites them is their involvement in arms and drug trafficking. What divides them are their interests and the rival gangs they belong to.

The ongoing war among these groups is not new, nor is it limited to Greece. France, England, Spain, and Latvia are just a few of the European countries where mafia-style executions targeting members of Turkish organizations have been recorded.

According to sources with deep knowledge of the matter who spoke to Protothema.gr, four major criminal organizations from Turkey have “relocated” their operations to European countries, including Greece. In addition to these, approximately 15 smaller criminal groups have been mapped, which are also reportedly involved in illegal activities in Greece. Police estimate that at least 80 Turkish mobsters are currently residing and operating in the country.

Living lavishly, harboring vengeful tendencies, and shooting for fun
The profiles of these individuals, as outlined by members of Greece’s “FBI,” who are handling the investigations, are quite similar. They enter Greece via illegal routes, and when detected, they claim to be political refugees and seek asylum. They lead lavish lifestyles, frequently changing residences, often Airbnb rentals, to avoid suspicion.

Their behavior exhibits strong vengeful tendencies; they target the relatives of their rivals—cousins, siblings, and parents—and they do not hesitate to open fire even in broad daylight, showing complete disregard for bystanders caught in the crossfire.

This was evident in the latest attack against three Turks in Glyfada last Monday (December 9), which resulted in the deaths of two and the severe injury of the third. Police sources report that all three men were members of one of the four major gangs, known as “Bayraklar,” and were apparently targeted by a rival gang. The injured man, currently hospitalized at Asklipieio Voula, is reportedly wanted in Turkey under a red notice for murder.

This incident has raised concerns among authorities, who fear the possibility of retaliatory attacks in response to the Glyfada shooting, prompting heightened security measures.

The Glyfada connection to the Athens car chase
Two people have already been arrested in connection with the case, while five more suspects—most of whom have been identified—are being sought. Evidence linking the Glyfada attack to a car chase involving a white Opel carrying four Turkish passengers in central Athens in late November has also come to light. During the chase, officers from OPKE (Crime Prevention and Suppression Team) arrested one passenger and found two firearms, while the remaining suspects escaped.

The arrested Turk was charged with illegal possession of firearms and released but has now been linked to the Glyfada attack. Another suspect is the driver of the white Opel, who managed to escape that night along with the others.

Further analysis revealed that the white Opel’s registered owner is among the individuals arrested last Wednesday during a police raid in Athens by the Greek “FBI.” A significant portion of the 50 confiscated firearms was reportedly found in this suspect’s possession.

Investigators from the Organized Crime Division believe that the four Turks in the white Opel on the night of the chase were on a mission to carry out a contract killing, which was thwarted by the OPKE officers’ intervention.

Authorities are simultaneously investigating whether the suspect arrested with the large number of weapons in Athens had supplied arms to the perpetrators who, in early November, executed a 39-year-old Turk in Kypseli as he stood outside his car. The victim had previously drawn the attention of authorities, as a red notice for drug offenses had been issued against him by Turkey in 2022. That same year, before his arrest, he had taken a friend with gunshot wounds to the hospital—another incident tied to drug-related disputes.

The death list
As evident from these events, the war between these gangs is far from over. The likelihood of new attacks remains high, as does the growing list of mafia-related hits since September 2023.

The death list begins with the ambush that killed six Turks in Loutraki on September 13, 2023. The second attack occurred months later, in June 2024, when a man of Kurdish descent opened fire inside a supermarket in Piraeus, killing one Turk and injuring another.

The “war” then moved to Kypseli, where, on the night of November 5, 2024, a 39-year-old Turk was shot at least nine times by two assailants as he stood outside his car, resulting in his death.

A few weeks later, on November 26, the previously mentioned chase involving the white Opel took place in central Athens, and just last Monday, the most recent chapter of this “war” unfolded with the execution of two Turks in Glyfada.

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