In Ioannina, a high-profile lawsuit was interrupted: a policeman, guards and an Albanian repeat offender are behind bars

IN Ioannina The trial in the case of a criminal group operating in prison was interrupted Stavraki. In the dock were ten peopleincluding Albanian prisonerwhom the investigation considers the leader, as well as policeman And three guards.

The court hearing was postponed to October 23.

Court under guard and adjourned until the start of the hearing

Trial in the case of a criminal organization exposed July 2, 2024 service Internal Affairs of Northern Greecewas supposed to start at Triple Serious Crimes Trial of Ioannina. However, the hearing was interrupted before the main part of the meeting began. The court decided to continue the case October 23.

Present in the courtroom ten accusedamong which – Albanian prisonerpresumably the head of the group, one policeman, three correctional officers And one prisoner. The court hearing took place at draconian security measures – reinforced police, metal detectors and closed access to the public.

Accusations and progress of the investigation

All participants were charged organization of a criminal group, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, bribes, violation of official secrets And mobile phone smuggling to prison. Some episodes also involved violations of immigration laws and illegal possession of weapons.

According to the police internal investigation servicesthe reason for the inspection was an anonymous email that came into their possession and contained information about illegal activities in the Stavraki prison. After this, telephone taps, surveillance and analysis of connections between suspects were authorized.

The defense denied the charges

Lawyers for the alleged leader – Georgios Nikolakopoulos And Theano Naku — stated that their client categorically denies all charges. “He has nothing to do with drug trafficking. This is the result of an arbitrary interpretation of investigative data and erroneous communication with prison employees, who are also not related to the case,” Naku noted.

Nikolakopoulos stressed that the initial anonymous complaint at the heart of the investigation was likely related to internal conflicts between prisoners and security personnel in Stavraki.

A similar position was expressed by Dimitris Boukasthe police officer’s lawyer, said the charges “barely reach the limits of fantasy” because the testimony of prosecution witnesses did not support most of the allegations.

Next meeting

The court adjourned until October 23when the trial continues with the questioning of new witnesses. According to judicial sources, the hearings could last several weeks due to the large number of defendants and the volume of evidence collected.

The case has already aroused wide public interest in Greece, since it involves representatives of different levels of government and civil service. The investigation was another reminder of the systemic problems of Greek penitentiary institutions and their vulnerability to corruption schemes.

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