Two attacks linked to EU customs fraud investigation in Greece
Two violent incidents targeting a customs official and a customs broker have raised serious concerns about organized crime activity connected to Greece’s main port, following warnings from European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi.
The incidents occurred after a major police operation in June, when authorities confiscated €5 million in cash and arrested eight people as part of an investigation into large-scale customs fraud.
In October, a customs broker was attacked by three masked men who reportedly crushed his fingers with a hammer. According to police sources, the attack may have been ordered after the broker “broke an agreement with Chinese leaders of the network.”
In a separate incident in August, a 40-year-old customs director responsible for container inspections was beaten outside his home in the Athens suburb of Ilion by an unidentified motorcyclist. The official had testified about inspection irregularities, allegedly revealing that some colleagues approved containers without properly checking their contents.
Investigators believe the criminal group declared containers from China as shipments of auto parts instead of electric bicycles, allowing them to pay lower customs duties and cause significant losses to the European Union budget.
Chief Prosecutor Kövesi had earlier warned that the criminal network under investigation was powerful and dangerous, saying it operated at a level where “even death contracts” had been mentioned.
