The Best of GRReporter
flag_bg flag_gr flag_gb

Hired assassins and fuel smugglers are among the persons apprehended this week

28 June 2013 / 22:06:05  GRReporter
2431 reads

The Greek police have revealed the involvement of seven people in the attempted murder of a businessman, aged 43, from the neighbourhood of Vouliagmenis in Athens. The press office of the Ministry of Citizen Protection has announced the details of the affair, without stating the names of the detainees.

On 15 June this year, the victim had received at his house a delivery from an employee of a flower shop. The delivery consisted of an elegant pot of flowers, a package wrapped like a present and a paper bag with the name of the victim and his home address. When the man opened the present sent by an unknown person, the package exploded and injured him in the abdomen, pelvis and limbs.

The police investigation indicates that the package contained a hand grenade which had been placed in such a way as to explode upon opening the package.

The affair involves a businessman, aged 49, who is believed to have ordered the murder, another man, aged 41, who is a recidivist from the prison in Korydallos and well known to the police, a fire-fighter, aged 44, who had cooperated in the search of a hired assassin, a defendant, aged 42 and three supporting persons (two men aged 27 and 46, and a woman aged 27).

It had all begun in May 2012 when the 49-year-old businessman had started looking to hire someone to commit a murder with a gun. He offered 50,000 euro for the “job”. The fire-fighter, who acted as an intermediary, connected the businessman with the 46-year-old man - the first candidate for the job. He insisted on obtaining 25,000 euro in advance and the remainder upon completing the task but refused the deal, as he had not received the money on time.

"The death treaty" was undertaken by a group of four people involving the defendant, aged 42, whose plan was carried out with the support of a boy and a girl, aged 27. On the morning of 15 June, the three of them visited a famous flower shop in the seaside suburb of Voula. From there, the girl bough a pot of flowers and asked for it to be delivered to the address of the victim, along with a box wrapped as a present, which contained the hand grenade. A little later, the same woman called the flower shop to make sure that her delivery had been completed.

That evening, the three accomplices left for Corinth where they spent a few days in order to stay out of the sight of the authorities. The investigation has taken the police to the seven persons who are involved in the affair. They have been indicted and are testifying to the prosecutors at present.

The other news announced by the Greek police is related to the fight against illegal fuel trade. The police have apprehended six Greeks and two foreigners involved in the illegal transportation and trade of fuel for shipping.

The fuel for the commercial and civil fleet is not subject to excise duty in Greece and it is one of the most demanded products on the black market. In order for it to be distinguished during checks from the fuel for vehicles, transport and heating, on which a heavy excise duty is imposed, it is being industrially coloured.

The apprehended persons transported the smuggled fuel by refrigerator truck that had been adjusted for the transportation of liquid fuels. The criminal group had three illegal warehouses in which it removed the colour of the fuel, forged the documents of origin and then subsequently sold the fuel at a very high price. It transported the already processed fuel from the warehouses to the customer in regular tanks.

During the operation to break up the group, the police have found 66 underground and ground structures for fuel storage, a nine-ton truck for fuel smuggling, equipment for draining fuel from naval vessels, 10 tankers and more than 40 tons of oil, chemicals for fuel discoloration as well as several cars and other objects that were used in the illegal activity.

Tags: Crime newsMurderSmugglingGreeceFuels
SUPPORT US!
GRReporter’s content is brought to you for free 7 days a week by a team of highly professional journalists, translators, photographers, operators, software developers, designers. If you like and follow our work, consider whether you could support us financially with an amount at your choice.
Subscription
You can support us only once as well.
blog comments powered by Disqus