On 11th January this year a fatal accident cost the life of 22-year-old Panagiotis Karatzis, who was killed when a Porsche driven by a drunken driver collided with his car on the Leoforo Karamanlis in Souda. It transpired that the 45-year-old driver of the Porsche, described as a well-known local businessman, had been stopped by a police patrol some hours earlier and found to be nearly three times over the legal limit for alcohol, but instead of being arrested on the spot as the law required, had been allowed to go on his way, driven by his female companion who was sober. A few hours later he was on the road again, under the influence of alcohol and what were described as “anti-psychotic drugs”, when the accident happened.
The incident received widespread coverage in the national press. On the orders of the Prime Minister the head of the Chania police department was suspended, and an inquiry was instituted into why the patrolmen had failed to arrest the driver, who was uninjured in the subsequent accident. The Chania police chief was replaced by a senior officer from Athens and the head of the local Traffic Police was replaced by another officer from Heraklion with 15 years’ experience in the Traffic Police.
A year earlier, on 23rd January 2024, a bomb had damaged the car of a serving policeman outside his home in Chania. The officer had recently made arrests related to cocaine trafficking and it was thought that the attack might have been in revenge for recent convictions. A suspect, arrested on Tuesday 24th January of this year, was found with weapons and 1.5 kilograms of cocaine. Police discovered explosives, including TNT and C-4 and two ready-to-use bombs, in a warehouse connected to him, and the authorities suspected that he might be part of a larger drug trafficking ring. (Ekathimerini)
Dismantling the Creta mafia
These two incidents, it has been suggested in the media, were instrumental in prompting a wide-ranging investigation of policing and criminality in Western Crete, led by officers from Athens working in secret, which led to the arrest of 49 members of what the Police have described as an organised crime ring operating in areas of both Chania and Rethymnon. According to Ekathimerini:
“The network allegedly laundered money through hotels, beach bars and short-term rentals. Police say the group’s reach extended into law enforcement and the military: uniformed officers reportedly facilitated drug and weapons trafficking, while two army officers were directly involved in drug distribution.
“Raids uncovered narcotics and heavy weaponry, including assault rifles. Foreign nationals from Albania and Egypt were linked to drug operations, while arms smuggling appeared limited to Greek suspects. Among those arrested are a hotel owner in Chania and his brother, as well as a gym owner in Kolymbari.”
The Police give a press conference
On Tuesday 2nd September, the Police gave a press conference in Chania, presenting the results of their investigations to date and suggesting that further investigations and further arrests were expected to follow. Some of the statements at the press conference as reported by Haniotika Nea, were as follows.
“A battle has been won but not the war,” it was emphasised at a Police press conference held in Chania on Tuesday on the dismantling of the criminal organisation. The General Regional Director of Police for Crete, Major General Nikolaos Spyridakis, noted that the Chania Police had proceeded very methodically and step by step in their investigation of the case, and there had been 40 searches of premises which had led to many finds, such as narcotics, guns and money.
The Director General of the Chania Police, Brigadier General Kanellos Nikolaou, said that it was one of the most complex operations which they had carried out in recent years. It culminated in the dismembering of a multi-level criminal organisation whose main objective was trafficking drugs, weapons and ammunition, and blackmail.
The drug trafficking organisation, the Director said, “had a clearly-defined structure. At the top was the managing kernel, which set quantities, prices and the means of distribution. At the middle level, family networks and suppliers worked together, supplying three main distribution points: the Park of Peace and Friendship, the Venetian Harbour and 1866 Square. Teams of small dealers were involved in the daily distribution activities, while there was a separate arm for the supply and distribution of weapons.
“Their activities were not solely restricted to narcotics. They were involved in serious cases of blackmail, with the aim of financially exploiting businesses and organisations, while they were also implicated in violent acts such as the placing of an explosive mechanism at the home of an officer of the Hellenic Police. At the same time they had developed a network for laundering their receipts through banking transactions, remittances, and even through the use of POS terminals of legitimate businesses.”
The arrests started with the small dealers and led step by step to the higher circles of the chain, the Director continued. “We found warehouses and confiscated substantial quantities of cocaine, cannabis and heroin, as well as guns, ammunition and quantities of cash. Altogether 15 members were held in provisional custody even before the final phase of the operation, and we managed to forestall a new bombing targeting a lawyer.
“Among these arrested were individuals, natives and foreigners, as well as two Air Force personnel and a police officer, while their total financial benefit is estimated to exceed €1,177,000. This case demonstrates that criminal organisations can adapt, can exploit the local community and can even try to penetrate institutions. An indicative case is the blackmail of priests and the subreption of a monastery’s property with an illegal profit of €1.5 million euros. Cases of the bribery of government officials and the exertion of illegal influence were also investigated.”
Reporting on the details of the operation, Press Officer of the Hellenic Police, Captain Konstantia Dimoglidou said:
“For the dismemberment of the organisation, a stage by stage process was followed, with targeted arrests, confiscations and detentions of its key and ranking members during the period from January to August 2025, in which quite a few members of the organisation were arrested, with 16 provisionally detained in the country’s prisons.
“For the final dismantling of the organisation, on Sunday 31st August 2025, an extensive operation was carried out in areas of the Nomos of Chania and Rethymnon, and in the presence of court officials. It was led by the Chania Sub–directorate for Criminal Investigation, with the collaboration of the Crime Prevention Teams (OPKE) of Chania, Rethymnon and Heraklion, the Cretan Anti-Terrorist Unit (EKAM), and the Police Operations Departments (TAE) of Chania and Rethymnon.
“During the course of the operation, 33 members of the organisation were arrested including the leadership. Among those arrested were two Air Force personnel as well as a serving policeman, who is accused of assisting the criminal organisation and violation of his service confidentiality….
“As regards the organisation’s modus operandi in trafficking narcotics, a subsidiary team of the organisation, the so-called street dealers consisting mainly of foreigners, were engaged under the guidance of its ranking members in the distribution of narcotic substances (cannabis, cocaine and heroin) in particular areas of Chania with increased tourist activity, which were used as “market places” for availability and sale. The kernel of these operated on the orders of a different sub-team which provided the narcotics, most of whom were linked by strong family connections ….
“Beyond the three basic distribution points, the whole of the Nomos of Chania had been divided into areas of ‘responsibility’ for each sub-team where each ranking member had a personal ‘clientele’, supplying particular buyer-clients. At the same time, cocaine was distributed on a daily basis on behalf of the leaders by different members of the organisation through bars and restaurants which they owned.
“For the illegal trade in arms and ammunition, the members used internet-based apps, both for communication between themselves and for contact with prospective customers, to whom they sent pictures and prices of the weapons which were for sale.
“Finally, the members proceeded to legitimise their illegal gains, integrating them into the ‘legal’ economy via a three-stage model of laundering: placement, layering and integration. For this purpose they used inter-bank transfers and international payment platforms, as well as legitimate businesses which they owned, which operated as the so-called ‘washing machine’ for money laundering….
“The investigation was also extended to members of the organisation and members of their circle of contacts who were active in cases of giving and taking bribes, trading in influence, deception, breaches of confidentiality, breach of duty, breach of trust and causing severe bodily injury. For these cases, charges were brought against six individuals, which were submitted to the appropriate Prosecuting Authority.
“There was also reference to the blackmail of clerics representing monastic property, and subreption of property belonging to a particular Monastery, with financial gain which exceeded €1.5 million.”
What was confiscated
From the searches conducted in houses and also in prison cells, the following were found and confiscated:
– 2 kg and 858 gm of cocaine
– 11 kg and 282 gm of cannabis
– 23 gm of cannabis
– 187 narcotic tablets
– 136 tablets and 46 vials of anabolic substances
– 16 cannabis plants
– 9 precision scales
– 5 military rifles, among them 2 Kalashnikovs and an M16, and a multitude of accessories for firearms.
– 12 small arms (10 pistols and 2 revolvers) with their accessories.
– 14 hunting guns-rifles.
– 4,075 cartridges
– 33 cars
– 10 motorcycles
– 66 mobile phones
– 19 tablets and
– cash amounting to a total of €99,665.
Altogether, 5,800 cases of sales/purchases of narcotic drugs were recorded, supplying more than 41 kg of cannabis, 9 kg of cocaine and 2 kg of heroin, with the estimated financial gain exceeding €1,177,720.
(Ekathimerini.com, 01/09/25, Haniotika Nea, 02/09/25)