Thessaloniki court detains Turkish national in arms trafficking case

A 49-year-old Turkish national has been placed in pretrial detention by a Thessaloniki investigating magistrate following his interrogation regarding a major arms cache discovered in Syki. The suspect is accused of being an accessory to aggravated illegal possession of weapons and involvement in a criminal organization.

The weapons, which were seized during a police operation on September 12, included a sniper rifle, an Uzi submachine gun, magazines, scopes, and ammunition. Authorities believe the arsenal was intended for members of a Turkish criminal group. Two other individuals, a 36-year-old Turkish man and a 30-year-old Greek man, were previously arrested in connection with the discovery.

The suspect, who is currently held at Koridallos Prison, also faces an outstanding extradition request from Turkish authorities regarding a computer fraud case. While the Greek Supreme Court has already ruled favorably on the extradition, the new criminal proceedings in Thessaloniki have temporarily suspended the execution of that request. During his interrogation, the suspect denied all charges, stating he has no connection to the weapons or criminal groups and expressed a desire to return to Turkey to serve his sentence for the fraud case.