Two guns found in Korydallos prison point to escape plan

Greek police say the two weapons and the ammunition found during a sweep inside the high security Korydallos prison in western Attica may have been procured as part of a plan by convicts to break out, using hostages for leverage, police sources told Kathimerini.

During a search conducted on Sunday, officers of the Extortion Prosecution Department found a SIG Sauer pistol with an empty magazine and 15 9mm cartridges wrapped in duct tape, concealed within a wall compartment in the basement boiler room.

It comes after police found a Glock pistol and 19 rounds of ammunition hidden inside the wall of an empty cell in a raid last May.

Although authorities are continuing the investigation, the initial assessment is that the weapons are linked to members of the Albanian mafia serving life sentences for a slew of felonies, sources told Kathimerin, adding that they would be used in an attempt to escape.

A similar plan was foiled in 2020 in the prisons of Corfu, when officers from the police’s counterterrorism unit (EKAM) had raided the building and found two guns hidden inside the wall – one with a silencer. Further investigation revealed that eight inmates were planning to escape by taking prison employees hostage.

Kathimerini