A criminal organization with 158 members, which has been operating since 2019, is behind the murder of the police officer Georgios Ligeridis. According to a statement by the Chief of Police Dimitris Mallios, 60 arrests have already been made, while the accused are alleged to have committed felonies and misdemeanors not only in Attica but also in Volos and Ioannina.

Mr. Mallios’ statement continues:

“For the past 4 months, the Violence Prevention Sub-Directorate at Sports Facilities of the Attica Security Directorate, with the assistance of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, has conducted an extensive investigation under extreme secrecy to fully clarify the criminal attack by hooligans in the Rentis area, which resulted in the death of the Anti-Riot Unit (MAT) police officer Georgios Ligeridis.

As it is already known, for the investigation of this murderous attack, from the very beginning, over 400 detentions were made to ensure that no evidence was lost, while one individual was arrested and brought to justice.

Subsequently, the file that was compiled included testimonies, videos, and other findings that demonstrated the existence of a criminal organization behind the attack, while confirming the correlation of sports violence with organized crime.

Specifically, evidence emerged of a criminal organization consisting of 158 members, who, at least since 2019, had been committing punishable felonies and misdemeanors, primarily in Attica, Volos, and Ioannina.

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To dismantle this criminal organization, a large-scale police operation was carried out from the early hours of today, as part of the ongoing investigation, with the assistance of the Special Counter-Terrorism Unit and police dogs, resulting in the arrest of 60 individuals so far.

Simultaneously, 58 searches have been conducted in residences and 15 in vehicles, and a plethora of evidence has been confiscated, such as firearms, wooden bats, knives, narcotics, clothing, digital media, and more.

Our commitment to combating sports violence and overall lawlessness is absolute. We will continue to work with a plan and determination for the safety of citizens and peaceful coexistence in our society.”