April 18, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Gang "Polytechnic": details. Part 1


The 30-year-old Albanian, who was injured during yesterday’s police operation at the Polytechnic, was the leader of a gang that bullied all of Athens, considered himself the “master of the campus”, participated in the kidnapping of the son of a journalist and avoided arrest 2 times thanks to his mistress, a police officer.

Two brothers of Albanian origin – the older 30-year-old nicknamed “Giulio” and 27-year-old “Erko” – were leaders of a large gang that was based on the Polytechnio campus in Zographu, dealt in drugs and weapons, robbed shops and extorted money from students. According to the police statement, the leader of the criminal group permanently resided on the Polytechnio campus.

In addition to all other charges brought against the gang (including 29 store robberies), the brothers were involved in at least one case of arms dealing in the area of ​​the Polytechnic University campus, as well as in many different cases of drug dealing and in fights in and around the university.

It is noted that Giulio was the bandit who threatened the female sergeant with a screwdriver during yesterday’s campus police operation Polytechnic. The bandit moved menacingly with a screwdriver towards the woman. At first, her colleague noticed him and opened fire in that direction, but did not stop him. The female sergeant then fired in cold blood at the criminal, wounding him in the chest and leg. The police officers gave him first aid before the arrival of an ambulance, which took him to the Red Cross hospital, and he was hospitalized under guard.

The kidnapping of the son of a journalist

In 2019, the brothers kidnapped the son of a journalist and kept him in the dormitory of the Polytechnic Institute. After taking the keys to the house from the guy, they broke into his family’s apartment, taking a six-figure sum of money and jewelry. A few months later, the police managed to arrest one of the perpetrators, while the rest remained unknown. The trial of this incident has not yet been completed.

“Campus Masters”

As it became known to the police, the gangs set up an informal “face control” at the entrances and peripheral territories of the Polytechnic City. The gangsters, in fact, posed as the “owners” of the campus, racketeering students and forcing the girls living there to cohabitate.

Giulio was involved in an incident involving two female students just a few days ago, at 11:25 pm on September 9th. The girls drove their car into the inner territory of the Polytechnic City from the side of the gate on Katehaki Street. Then they realized that someone was following them in a black Mercedes. A man about 30 years old got out of the car and approached the car where the girls were sitting. He introduced himself as “Giulio” and, pointing a gun at them, said that he was a member of the security forces, and they, they say, violated the rules and now owe him personally.

After that, the guy left the scene. Both girls were frightened, they called the police and security guards, who told them that such incidents often occur in hostels. At that moment, a motorcycle with two riders drove up. The passenger was again “Giulio”, who told them it was a misunderstanding. But when he learned that the police had arrived at the gates of the hostel, he began to threaten the girls, saying that “he is the head of the campus.”

Avoided arrest thanks to a police cadet

The 30-year-old offender twice managed to avoid arrest – the first time, in fact, because he was warned by a young police cadet who participated in the cordon. In particular, the police noticed a guy entering a residential building on the street. Alexandru Papagos, where his family lives, on the afternoon of January 28, 2022. Shortly thereafter, the O.P.K.E. went to the Zografa police station to prepare the forces for the upcoming arrest operation. However, at that time there was a police cadet who contacted another member of the gang and informed him in coded form that the arrest of the guy was inevitable. As a result, he managed to escape.

In the second case, early in the morning of July 12, O.P.K.E. conducted a raid in an apartment on the street. Alexandru Papagos, where “Giulio” was with his brother and girlfriend. During the police attempt to arrest him, “Julio” pulled out a gun from his bag and pointed it towards the police. Law enforcement officers froze, and the offender got on a motorcycle driven by his accomplice and fled.

How the police came to the gang

A high-ranking officer of the capital’s criminal investigation department (security department) told reporters that the investigation began about two months ago following complaints from students and representatives of the administration. According to preliminary information, the perpetrators of the armed robberies use student hostels either as a base or as a shelter. The complaint was forwarded to the Athens security sub-directorate, and the police services proceeded to decrypt the suspects’ mobile phones. During approximately two months of observation, a total of 22 individuals were identified, who appeared to be in three different groups.

Gang methods

The gang members were active for a little over a year in the area of ​​the university campus and Zografu, and their base was the hostels of the Polytechnio. It was there that they planned their robberies, distributed and stored drugs, as well as stolen goods and weapons.

In addition, the criminals parked their “work” cars near campus dormitories, which they used to carry out their illegal activities, many of them were stolen. The campus area was not only a starting point, but also a place where they hid after committing crimes.

The gang members carried out armed robberies by covering their faces with full-face masks and wearing gloves to avoid identification and subsequent arrest by the police.

When committing robberies or thefts, they were armed with pistols, knives, brass knuckles and clubs. Firearms were also featured on their TikTok profiles to “show off their might”. In order not to be caught, they used telephones registered in the names of non-existent foreigners to make it impossible to trace them by analyzing telephone connections and conversations. They also used specific and numerous telephone connections (GHOSTNUMBERS) to communicate with each other, which are classified as “operational”.

For communication, they mainly used the “WHATS APP” web application, as well as “MESSENGER”, “SIGNAL”, “TELEGRAM”, “TWINME” and “VIBER”.

Continuation part 2



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