Faced with charges of passive bribery on a repeated, professional and joint basis, as well as criminal organization in the form of a gang, are the 14 customs officers arrested at the Mavrommatio Customs Office in Thesprotia.

The case file consists of over 2,000 pages and includes video and photographic material, along with recorded conversations between the accused and other persons from legal connections.

The plea process will be completed in two phases on Sunday and Monday due to the large number of defendants. Eight of the accused will appear before the prosecutor on Sunday, while the remaining six will plead on Monday.

It will be recalled that these are 13 customs officers and their supervisor who were arrested yesterday, Thursday, by the “Unbreakable” of the ELAS.

How the arrested men operated

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The police statement said that a criminal group, consisting of customs authority officials who were receiving improper financial benefits for not carrying out inspections, was dismantled.

The case file formed also includes 404 other persons for bribery, of which 92 persons have been identified.

The operation was carried out by the Subdirectorate of Internal Affairs of the Security Corps of Northern Greece. After information was evaluated, the action of a criminal organization, consisting of a supervisor and 13 employees of the customs authority, who received improper financial benefits for not carrying out customs checks on passing drivers of vehicles, in neglect of their official duties, was discerned.

In order to dismantle the criminal organization, a police operation was carried out on Thursday, July 3, in areas of Epirus and Peloponnese, during which the accused were arrested.

This was carried out during the Thursday and Thursday night arrests.
A case file was formed against them for occasional establishment of a criminal organization, bribery and corruption of an official, breach of duty, theft, extortion, violation of the National Customs Code, as well as the laws on weapons and drugs.

Specifically, in the context of investigating a complaint and after using special interrogation operations, it was revealed that the defendants, having as a common goal illegal enrichment, were engaged in receiving improper financial benefits from citizens, either to avoid customs control or to avoid being sanctioned for violations they had committed.

A crucial role in the organization was played by the head of the Customs, who, despite his clear and institutional obligation to supervise, prevent and suppress illegal actions by his subordinates, on the one hand, deliberately failed to perform his duties, and on the other hand, actively participated in the commission of illegal acts, receiving amounts from the illicit benefits.

The accused had even drawn up a “price list” with the sums of money they were seeking as benefits, which was known to passers-by and which they accepted in order to achieve their uncontrolled passage through the border station.

Indicatively, they received at least 10 euros for each bus, both at the entrance and at the exit, while for each private car, depending on the goods transported, the amount ranged from 5 to 200 euros. These amounts were placed in a box with a special cache, so that they could then separate the legitimate collection from the illegitimate benefit and proceed to divide them equally among themselves.

However, individual acts of receiving improper monetary benefits by employees who were performing duty alone, without the presence of another employee or supervisor, were also found.

In fact, in order to avoid detection in case of a surprise check, the members of the criminal organization placed the money in their clothes or personal bags.

As revealed by the investigation, no checks were carried out on persons who provided improper financial benefits and the only checks were carried out on vehicles and drivers who did not pay money. At the same time, no congestion conditions were found to raise the issue of difficulty in the smooth operation of the Customs, which would interpret the selective control of passers-by.

It is characteristic that during the period from 15-05-2025 to 01-06-2025, the defendants on duty, with a different composition each time, jointly committed 303 bribes, with a benefit of 5,274 euros and 148 bribes by each of them separately, with a benefit of 1,945 euros.

In fact, in three of these cases, they demanded extortionate improper benefits, with threats of confirmation of violations-imposition of customs sanctions, against people passing through the Customs, while four of the accused proceeded 12 times to remove money from the “common” fund of the criminal organization, without the knowledge of the others and before the process of their distribution.

From the searches conducted at the customs office, houses and vehicles, the following were found and seized:

* 88,102 euros, 6,120 dollars and 110 pounds sterling,

* 10 gold pounds and a gold 100 crowns,

* 2 pistols and cartridges,

* an improvised cigarette of raw cannabis with a total gross weight of 2.99 grams and raw cannabis with a total gross weight of 0.23 grams,

* 38 narcotic tablets,

* mobile phones and

* handwritten notes and notebooks.

It should be noted that the Anti-Money Laundering Authority was also informed about the activities of the criminal organization.

The arrested persons were taken to the competent prosecution authority and referred to an investigator.