Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Athens: Greece's biggest illegal cigarette ring smashed

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Athens: Greece's biggest illegal cigarette ring smashed

    Greece's biggest illegal cigarette ring smashed

    Kathimerini, Greece
    Sept 2 2005

    A criminal ring using immigrants to produce millions of contraband
    cigarettes in an underground factory near Thessaloniki has been broken,
    police said yesterday after arresting a suspected gang member.

    The 35-year-old ethnic Greek from Armenia is thought to be one of at
    least 10 members of a ring employing Ukrainian and Moldovan immigrants,
    in rotating groups of 20, over the past six months in exchange for
    room and board.

    He has been charged with forming a criminal organization, money
    laundering, forgery and customs violations.

    Raids on the illegal factory and on two nearby warehouses unearthed
    more than 80 tons of tobacco and 2.3 million packs of contraband
    cigarettes, most bearing the forged logo of a well-known Greek brand.

    The factory comprised state-of-the-art manufacturing and packaging
    machines, underground living quarters for staff and closed-circuit
    television, police said.

    Officers described the operation as unprecedented in Greece.
Working...
X