Smuggling

The identities of four men, aged 20-23, belonging to a 12-member drug trafficking gang which was dismantled on April 26 by narcotics officers in Patra, western Greece, were made public on Wednesday.

According to police, the suspects are the four leading members of the gang, which is believed to have been peddling drugs at a school.

Bulgarian customs officials intercepted a clandestine smuggling operation involving over 3,000 packs of cigarettes ingeniously concealed within loaves of bread near the Danube Bridge in Vidin.

Customs inspectors from the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (AADE) discovered and seized a substantial quantity of narcotics in raw form at the Port of Piraeus. 

A cargo container arriving from Ecuador and bound for Croatia declared as fertilizer, raised suspicion. An X-ray inspection revealed sacks with varying densities, prompting further scrutiny. 

Greek authorities are scrutinizing a container of chemical substances discovered at the Attica port of Piraeus.

Customs officials have detained the cargo for ten days, Kathimerini understands. The substances could be used for military purposes, with intelligence from foreign security services prompting the seizure. 

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has revealed the apprehension of 41 suspects in operations targeting an organized crime syndicate involved in illegal arms production and smuggling across 11 of the country's 81 provinces.

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) is establishing a special forces squad for tax and customs audits.

The new large prosecution unit will take over the control of smuggling and tax evasion, with tax and customs officers working directly together, with the assistance of the AADE business chamber.

Customs officer Georgi Gospodinov keeps a vigilant eye out for unusual cargo at Bulgaria's Kapitan Andreevo border crossing, a critical checkpoint in the fight against migrant trafficking to Britain. Despite being over 150 kilometers from the nearest sea, Gospodinov and his colleagues have become instrumental in thwarting smugglers' attempts to transport migrants across the English Channel.

Earlier today, the director of Bulgaria's Customs Agency, Petya Bankova, has found herself at the center of an anti-corruption operation. Police, gendarmerie, and State Agency "National Security" (SANS) officials launched a coordinated operation, conducting searches at Bankova's office and residence, as well as her deputy Ludmil Marinov's premises.

Police in southern Attica have arrested an Italian national against whom an international arrest warrant was pending for his involvement smuggling petroleum products internationally.

According to the Interpol red notice and information from foreign authorities, the man is a leading member of a transnational criminal organization based in a Latin American country.

Five people have been arrested at Athens International Airport for attempting to illegally smuggle thousands of packs of cigarettes into the country.

Airport officials found 20,775 packs of cigarettes hidden in 19 pieces of luggage belonging to five passengers who had arrived on a flight from Ethiopia.