An OCG was dismantled by the Directorate of Financial Police in cooperation with the Deputy Directorate of Security of Larissa. The OCG members were transporting systematicallyethyl alcohol and alcoholic beverages from Bulgaria on a large scale. Twelve (12) OCG members were arrested yesterday, Tuesday, September 27, 2021, following a coordinated police operation, with the assistance of SEK in areas of Serres, Larissa, Attica, Karditsa and Viotia. Against them, as well as against four (4) other members sought, a case file was formed for - as the case may be - criminal organization, forgery, National Customs Code offenses, and the laws on trademarks and drugs. It was revealed that the OCG members at least since the beginning of the year, illegally imported both ethyl alcohol from Bulgaria, for the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, andbottled drinks, in which they replaced the labels with Greek ones and marketed them on the domestic market, without paying duties and taxes, reaping huge economic benefits. In order to avoid detection by prosecution services, the OCG members followed a specific modus operandi. Initially, using specially adapted trucks, they transported the contraband quantities to a warehouse in the area of Serres. Then, they transported the quantities to warehouses belonging to a legitimate business in Larissa, where they scraped off the existing labels and affixed new fake labels, with logos of famous companies. In fact, the OCG members made sure that the alcohol was transported to Larissa gradually and in small quantities, so that, in case of inspection, the alcohol quantities detected could be attributed to the legal activity of the company.Then, they channeled the alcoholic beverages to retail, while smuggled ethyl alcohol was distributed to various parts of Greece through transport companies. During the searches carried out in vehicles, warehouses, houses and businesses, with the assistance of officers teams of the Customs Audit Service (ELYT) of Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as the Customs Offices of Serres and Larissa, the following were found and seized: 18 tanks with ethyl alcohol, of 1,000 liters each, 770 containers with ethyl alcohol, of 10 literseach, 880 liters of ethyl alcohol, 900 liters in plastic bottles containing alcoholic beverages, 3,396 bottles of alcoholic beverages, 10,000 counterfeit labels of branded alcoholic beveragesand special construction - tools for scraping labels, 8 vehicles, a tractor unit with trailer, 2,145 grams of heroin, 9,200 euros, mobile phones and documents. The evaded taxes and other charges, from the seized quantities alone, exceed 850,000 euros, while from the overall evaluation of the OCG action it is estimated that its illegal profits amount to several million euros. The arrested persons, with the case file formed against them, were taken to the competent public prosecutor's office.
