A 42-year-old man was sent to prison after being sentenced to a total of 16 years in prison after being brought to trial before the Thessaloniki Criminal Court of Appeal, accused of being the leader of a criminal group that carried out extortion for the control of sale of doughnuts on busy beaches of Sithonia, in the second leg of Halkidiki.

The court found him guilty of six counts of extortion, gang racketeering and several misdemeanours, without any mitigating circumstances, “showing” him the way to prison, since the appeal was decided to have no suspensive effect on the execution of the sentence.

By the same decision, he was acquitted of two felonies that were against him, in particular attempted murder against a petty trader and human trafficking, linked to the working conditions of foreign petty traders.

Another 11 people were put on the bench, some of whom were acquitted and some of whom were sentenced to prison terms that were either commuted to fines or suspended on appeal.

The police investigation into the activities of the so-called “doughnut mafia” began after the detection of an attempted homicide against a doughnut vendor in Nikiti (for which the 42-year-old was acquitted). The multi-page indictment included acts committed between May and September 2021.

In his plea, the main accused denied the entirety of the acts.