[REVISION HISTORY]

Greek anti-smuggling operations 2026

Updated 6 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-07-31 16:49 UTC → 2026-08-01 06:23 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In early July 2026 Greek authorities detained foreign suspects linked to drug trafficking and weapons offenses. By late July the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) conducted a coordinated customs sweep at airports, seaports and land border stations, employing modern X‑ray scanners and three specially trained detection dogs – Hant, Camora and Elvis. AADE announced that the total value of seized contraband reached €2,065,416.91 and $91,723, comprising a wide mix of foreign ~~currency (11,790 £, 156,240 TL, 95,710 MKD, 54,000 ALL, 11,600 BGN, 2,500 CHF, 609,630 RSD and a Romanian‑denominated check of 191,357 LEI). The haul featured~~ currency, 60 gold coins, six gold plates (190 g), 1,990 g of gold jewellery, ~~4,126,057~~ over 4 million illegal cigarettes, 70 kg of tobacco, 3,346 cigars, 29,340 heated‑tobacco sticks, 347 L of illegal alcohol, 416 L of fuel, 9 kg of freon, 65 packs of illegal pesticides, 31,013 counterfeit items, 2,768 miscellaneous goods and 528 distinct illegal weapons. Drug seizures included 129 kg of khat, 25 kg of cannabis and 574 g of THC. Unusual finds included two exotic parrots and a fragment of a fossilised tree. ~~The inspections, carried out from January through June 2026, targeted major entry points including Eleftherios Venizelos~~ Between 27 July and ~~Macedonia airports, key seaports~~ 30 July police arrested 11 people in Eastern Macedonia, Thrace and ~~land border checkpoints. Significant undeclared~~ Kavala, confiscating raw cannabis, cannabis oil, small quantities of cocaine and precision scales; nine were Greek nationals and two foreigners, leading to ten new criminal files. In Naoussa, officers seized five packages containing 4.5 g of cocaine, a scale, €50 in cash ~~was found on passengers arriving from Istanbul, Doha, Tirana, New York~~ and ~~Beirut. A follow‑up report on 31 July confirmed~~ two mobile phones. Customs reports for the same ~~seizure totals and added~~ period reaffirmed the ~~fossilised tree fragment, underscoring~~ earlier totals, noting 25 kg of cannabis, the ~~sustained intensity~~ same 129 kg of khat, 528 illegal weapons and the ~~crackdown.~~ continued recovery of gold coins, gold plates and counterfeit goods. The sustained operations underscore Greece’s intensive crackdown on drug trafficking and related smuggling throughout July 2026.

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