An entire room of the Hellenic Police (EL.AS.) is filled with the confiscated items from the operation that dismantled the Crete mafia, as shown in the photo released by EL.AS., after the raid carried out in areas of Chania.

In the photo, numerous weapons can be seen, mainly hunting and military rifles, as well as pistols, ammunition, weapon components and holsters, boxes of bullets of various calibers, banknotes in euros, mobile phones, and packages of drugs.

49 arrested
According to EL.AS. estimates, the organization’s turnover approached €3 million. The case file states that revenues came from drug trafficking, estimated at around €1.1 million. From their other activities, revenues reached about €1.5 million.

Each member took their share, but as always, most of the money ended up with the two businessman brothers considered the leaders of the mafia in Crete.

Today, EL.AS. proceeded with a new arrest in the case, bringing the total number of those arrested to 49.

According to EL.AS. spokesperson Konstantia Dimoglidou, the investigation began with a drug trafficking case. However, the authorities managed to uncover a network with many branches that also trafficked Kalashnikov rifles.

The crucial role of two police officers

Two undercover police officers played a decisive role in the case. With prosecutorial authorization, they posed as workers in the catering sector. Within a few weeks, they managed to gain the trust of the members and extracted critical information, the use of which led to the exposure of the criminal structure.

The organization’s leading figures are said to be two brothers, businessmen from Chania, well known in the local community. The two had already been under scrutiny by the authorities for previous extortion cases.

Many of those arrested had already come to the attention of the police, with open case files or even serving prison sentences.

So far, it has not been clarified how many years the network had been operating. According to EL.AS. spokesperson Konstantina Dimoglidou, the accused did not expect to be confronted by the authorities.