[REVISION HISTORY]

Greek police target smuggling, waste, trafficking

Updated 15 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-24 08:22 UTC → 2026-10-09 07:02 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Since mid‑June 2026, Greek police have intensified coordinated raids across northern Greece and other regions targeting organised crime, illegal migration, waste‑management violations, and human‑trafficking. In July, law enforcement addressed various thefts and smuggling operations. On 13 July, four men were arrested in Peristeri following a theft of over €11,000 from a company vehicle. In the Evros region on 25 July, three individuals were arrested for transporting undocumented migrants. In Thessaloniki, two men were later detained in Oreokastro for illegal migrant smuggling. Human trafficking investigations reached a significant milestone in late July and early August, when police dismantled a network in Macedonia that exploited 57 migrants through forced labor and debt bondage. Smuggling operations continued through August. In Thessaloniki, high-speed chases occurred on the Egnatia Odos, including an incident where a 20-year-old truck driver collided with a police vehicle; authorities seized undocumented migrants, a folding stiletto, and a substance suspected to be MDMA. In another Thessaloniki case, a 30-year-old driver was caught with two migrants in a vehicle trunk; investigations indicated the migrants had paid “500 dollars each to enter via the Greek-Turkish border”. On 27 August, authorities in Serres arrested a man for transporting nine migrants, including four minors. Concurrently, the Thessaloniki Court of Appeal ordered the extradition of a 39-year-old Turkish national, who denies charges, claiming “political persecution due to his Kurdish heritage and political views”. In early September, authorities arrested five drivers for illegal migrant transport in the Evros and Rhodope regions. This included a Greek national caught with five migrants on the Didymoteicho–Alexandroupoli National Road, and a foreign national on the Ormenio–Ardeni National Road who crashed into a field during a pursuit, leading to the seizure of a knife, an air rifle, and a metal rod. In late September, smuggling activity continued in the Evros region. In early October, the Feres Border Guard Unit arrested a smuggler in the Evros region while transporting five undocumented migrants in a vehicle. Additionally, police in Vyronas and central Athens dismantled a smuggling ring that utilized four apartments in a single building as ‘safehouses’.

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