Police smash major alcohol smugglers network in Greece, Bulgaria

Fourteen people were arrested as members of a suspected criminal network smuggling large quantities of alcohol from Bulgaria and reselling it in Greece, police said Saturday.

All suspects, including two more suspected ring members who have been identified but remain at large, are facing charges of forming a criminal organization, forgery and violating laws on trademarks, product market regulation and customs code.

The arrests, which took lace on Thursday, include 10 Greek nationals and 4 foreigners.

Financial police said the ring members imported at least once a week alcohol or alcoholic beverages made in Bulgaria, which they transported to two illegal distilleries and four warehouses in central Athens.

They then relabelled it as Greek or manufactured alcoholic beverages from the alcohol they imported and distributed it to alcohol sellers in Attica or sent by courier elsewhere in the country.

In raids conducted in warehouses and private homes used by the suspects, police confiscated a total of 19,140 liters of alcohol, 3,431 of assorted alcoholic liquids, and 21,901 bottles of beverages.

Authorities estimate the unpaid levies amount to 810,000 euros.