Police Target Bootleg Cigarettes Trade

 (credit: Fried Dough)

A massive police crackdown on bootleg cigarette vendors led to the arrest of some 26 illegal immigrants on Thursday while large quantities of illicit goods were confiscated. The operation was carried out around the area where the National Archaeological Museum is located (central Athens).

According to reports, dozens of officers swooped on illegal traders as members of the motorcycle-riding DIAS squad and the riot police stood guard on street corners to avoid possible reactions by leftists or anarchists who frequent the broader Exarchia district. Most of the arrests were made around the Stournari Street area a place where these vendors usually tend to congregate.

Over the last two years, the cigarette vendors have flourished all over Greece's capital, and along with this so has the narcotics trade. After succeeding in curbing the drug trade in a bid to increase public safety and boost tourism, the Greek police are now turning their attention to the curbing the sale of bootleg cigarettes, something that is unfortunately growing in popularity among cash-strapped Greeks.