Anxiety is mounting among the relatives and friends of the three Greeks who, as previously reported by protothema.gr, have been detained for 15 days in North Macedonia following their arrest for possessing hunting cartridges in their vehicles.

The three men—a 38-year-old from Mouries, Kilkis, a 76-year-old from Koromilia, Kilkis, and a 62-year-old from Kastanoussa, Serres—entered the neighboring country separately on Friday, November 28, at different times via the Doirani border crossing, where they were arrested by police and customs officers, with a FRONTEX team present, because hunting cartridges were found in their cars. All three are hunters.

According to the official announcement of the North Macedonian police, the 38-year-old was arrested first at 10:20 a.m. on November 28, after 130 hunting cartridges were found in his vehicle during inspection. The second man, aged 76, was arrested an hour later after 24 cartridges were found in his car. The third, aged 62, was arrested at 4:30 p.m. because he had 40 cartridges in his vehicle.

According to the same announcement, the three Greeks were arrested for committing an offense under Article 396 of the Penal Code, concerning the illegal manufacture, possession, and trafficking of weapons and explosives — charges that are classified as felonies in the neighboring country, which explains their extended detention.

According to sources, the 38-year-old was expected to be tried today, while the 62-year-old and the 76-year-old are expected to be tried on Monday.

“They are being held in Bitola and will be transferred to Gevgelija for trial. Tomorrow the 38-year-old will be tried, and on Monday the other two,” said the president of the Hunting Association of Kilkis, Charalambos Vasileiadis.

Relatives and friends are anxiously waiting to hear the joyful news that their loved ones will be released and allowed to return home in time to spend Christmas together.

Residents of the border villages of Kilkis and Serres frequently cross into the neighboring country to fill up their cars with fuel, which is cheaper there, or to purchase other products at lower prices than in the Greek market.

In such a routine trip, villagers say, the three Greeks crossed the border and, being hunters, simply forgot to remove the cartridges from their cars. As they had previously told protothema.gr, all three men are well-liked in their local communities and have never caused trouble. They also note that all three had removed their shotguns from their vehicles.

It should be noted that from the moment of their arrest, the Greek embassy has been assisting the three men. According to sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is regular communication and updates with the families of the detainees.