Organized crime

Sentence of imprisonment of 288 years, with a fine of more than 4 million euros, has been imposed on two young Egyptian men found guilty of trafficking 40 illegal immigrants south of Gavdos in a dinghy.

Ahmed Alkwrab thought his ordeal was over last June when he survived one of the deadliest shipwrecks ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea and finally set foot on European soil.

Corruption cases involving public officials abound and are on the rise. Security officers at Piraeus Port arrested for trafficking in cocaine; border guards in the northeastern city of Orestiada involved in human trafficking; customs officials taking part in a contraband fuel scheme; a prison guard caught trying to smuggle hashish into Korydallos Prison.

Greek Police announced on Friday that it confiscated 644,500 contraband cigarette packages during an operation in the Aspropyrgos area of western Athens, on Thursday. 

According to the police, four men were arrested on an Aspropyrgos field while they were transferring the packages from a container to a truck trailer. The packages lacked a duty stamp tape.

Authorities have foiled smuggling attempts worth more than 1 billion Turkish Liras in several cities, including Istanbul, seizing counterfeit currency and leading to several arrests.

A Turkish criminal organization implicated in numerous homicides across Europe was dismantled Wednesday in Italy by the Italian Police with the assistance of Europol.

Europol disclosed that a total of 17 Turkish nationals, including the organization's leader, were arrested.

Customs inspectors at Athens International Airport seized 14,700 smuggled cartons of cigarettes. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pledged resolute action against any form of "bureaucratic tutelage" as an investigation unfolds into a purported criminal network entangling police officials.

"We are following every incident that has come to the agenda recently, in all its dimensions, down to the smallest detail," Erdoğan said during a parliamentary meeting on May 15.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced the initiation of a comprehensive investigation into potential links between Ankara police and a criminal syndicate following the suspension of three high-ranking officers.

Barzan Majeed, a recently-arrested Iraqi migrant trafficking kingpin known as "Scorpion," had been operating within Greek territory, Kathimerini understands.

Information gleaned from migrant smuggling networks suggests that Majeed resided and conducted operations in Greece from 1999 until late 2005, before relocating to the UK.