Quite interestingly, the head of the gang was a 41-year-old Greek man based in Larissa, and as shocking as this sounds the 38-year-old is a police sergeant at the Agios Panteleimonas department in Athens. Also important to note, is that before the arrests were made the 26-year-old Albanian man was ready to travel illegally to the UK.
(It is believed that the arrested police sergeant advised the slave traders on issues regarding identity card theft, and for this service he apparently received 2,000 to 3,000 euros for each ID card he issued.)
While investigating the case, authorities discovered multiple original and counterfeit documents and certificates (including identity cards), as well as other items such as stamps, computers, printers, automobiles, a motorcycle, two pistols (one of which had a suppressor), a pen gun and quite a few rounds of ammunition.
It appears that these human traffickers have been in operation since 2010 and it is suspected that they are responsible for trafficking 96 migrants abroad (in 53 cases).
Analyzing how the gang worked, the same reports in Athens claim that initially the gang adulterated original travel documents and identity cards, which they would often buy from Greeks, who would later report them as lost or stolen to avoid suspicion.
(In fact the investigation revealed quite a few cases of family members who regularly declared that their passports were stolen).
Did they make any money?
Obviously they did. According to the police report the gang managed to generate over 3,000,000 Euros, which was gradually saved and exported to the USA.
Posts
