Greek mafia remnants still active
Two bombing incidents this year at a gas station in Piraeus on March 8 and a liquor store in Kallithea on March 11, as well as a shootout with Kalashnikovs on Syngrou Avenue on March 23, were just the latest incidents in the ongoing turf war between rival gangs despite the recent police crackdown on the so-called Greek mafia.
The incidents occurred in the period after the execution with 97 bullets of 44-year-old Vangelis Zambounis in January outside his petrol station in Neos Kosmos.
All three incidents have been attributed by the police to the conflict between the two Greek mafia groups that have remained active after a barrage of executions, which a recent investigation by the Homicide Bureau attributed to the actions of hardened criminals tracing their origins to countries of the former Soviet Union.
Most of these suspects, although identified, still remain at large.
The latest cycle of violence miraculously did not cost the lives of any innocent bystanders.
A total of 40 houses and shops, as well as 10 cars, were damaged by the explosion at the gas station on Omiridou Skylitsi Street in Piraeus, with the device detonating right next to a gas tank.
Similarly, 38 houses and shops, as well as 12 vehicles were severely damaged – or destroyed by the explosion in the liquor store.
Two men were arrested on the evening of March 29 in Egaleo and Kallithea in connection with the bombings.
Both are Albanian nationals, with a long rap sheet including drug cases, extortion, weapons etc.
