Authorities on the island of Corfu have said tainted alcohol may be to blame for the fall and subsequent death of a British police officer last week.
From Wednesday to Friday September 1st, Corfu hosted large-scale operation to identify enterprises evading taxes and/or selling substandard and smuggled drinks.
Hannah Emily Byrne, 22, a London police officer, was found dead of a head injury on the first day of her holiday in the Greek resort of Kavos. According to the British Sun newspaper, Corfu’s chief doctor who initially examined her told the newspaper that he detected the odor of alcohol on her breath. Corfu’s chief doctor, Yiannis Aivatidis, said he had questions about what kind of alcohol she drank and said toxicology tests would answer them.
An autopsy on the British policewoman’s body on Monday showed she fell several meters. According to Aivatidis, injuries to the chest and abdomen were discovered, as well as a ruptured spleen. However, the cause of her death was a head injury.
On Sunday, following the raids on Kavos, the island’s authorities announced the closure of 28 bars that were found to be serving low-quality alcohol, as well as the remains of customers’ drinks.
From Wednesday to Friday September 1st, Corfu hosted large-scale operation to identify enterprises evading taxes and/or selling substandard and smuggled drinks.
It was attended by tax and customs inspectors from the Independent State Revenue Administration with the assistance of Greek police officers. Control teams landed at the southernmost point of the island, Kavos, known for wild parties where the British and other tourists relax under the influence of alcohol. The area is unofficially considered a “no-go zone” and therefore no inspections have been carried out in the area for many years.
This was an operation coordinated by the operations department of the Greek Tax Service, which was preceded by communication between the head of the Tax Service, Giorgos Pitsilis, and the Minister for Citizen Protection, Yiannis Ikonomou, and the Chief of Police.
Auditors carried out simultaneous raids on several bars and restaurants in the area, demanding that tax inspectors remove cash register tapes and customs officers that the drinks served were clean, not adulterated or smuggled.
Throughout the entire operation, AADE employees were in direct contact with the inspectors through the operations room and monitored the progress of the inspections, taking real-time videos and photographs of the results.
As a result of the checks, the following was established:
- 26 catering establishments failed to issue at least 40,578 checks totaling €267,418.
- 2 catering establishments did not issue 1204 checks for a total of 8252 euros.
- 7 catering establishments served drinks that were not labeled with a batch number, which meant they were contraband and/or counterfeit. In addition, 8 samples were taken, the contents of which have already been sent to the State General Laboratory.
- Drinks were served mixed with drinks from previous customers. As inspectors found, bartenders collect what is left in visitors’ glasses, pour them into containers, and from there they serve glasses of drinks to tourists.
Such establishments were closed for 48 hours and fined. Inspections continue in other tourist areas.
Corfu (Kerkyra), along with Mykonos, is known in Greece for the high level of criminalization of the “night entertainment” industry, where the mafia has ruled for many years. Many establishments were protected at the highest level, and the current inspection was actually the first in recent decades.
It was attended by tax and customs inspectors from the Independent State Revenue Administration with the assistance of Greek police officers. Control teams landed at the southernmost point of the island, Kavos, known for wild parties where the British and other tourists relax under the influence of alcohol. The area is unofficially considered a “no-go zone” and therefore no inspections have been carried out in the area for many years.
This was an operation coordinated by the operations department of the Greek Tax Service, which was preceded by communication between the head of the Tax Service, Giorgos Pitsilis, and the Minister for Citizen Protection, Yiannis Ikonomou, and the Chief of Police.
Auditors carried out simultaneous raids on several bars and restaurants in the area, demanding that tax inspectors remove cash register tapes and customs officers that the drinks served were clean, not adulterated or smuggled.
Throughout the entire operation, AADE employees were in direct contact with the inspectors through the operations room and monitored the progress of the inspections, taking real-time videos and photographs of the results.
As a result of the checks, the following was established:
- 26 catering establishments failed to issue at least 40,578 checks totaling €267,418.
- 2 catering establishments did not issue 1204 checks for a total of 8252 euros.
- 7 catering establishments served drinks that were not labeled with a batch number, which meant they were contraband and/or counterfeit. In addition, 8 samples were taken, the contents of which have already been sent to the State General Laboratory.
- Drinks were served mixed with drinks from previous customers. As inspectors found, bartenders collect what is left in visitors’ glasses, pour them into containers, and from there they serve glasses of drinks to tourists.
Such establishments were closed for 48 hours and fined. Inspections continue in other tourist areas.
Corfu (Kerkyra), along with Mykonos, is known in Greece for the high level of criminalization of the “night entertainment” industry, where the mafia has ruled for many years. Many establishments were protected at the highest level, and the current inspection was actually the first in recent decades.
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