How Police Tracked Down the 39 Accused in Antiquities Trafficking: A Prison Officer Among Them

Currently before the courts are the 39 individuals arrested for the trafficking ring—described as a ‘mammoth’ operation—that operated in Northern Greece. The accused will begin appearing in parts from tomorrow (June 26, 2025) until Sunday at the office of the 3rd Special Investigating Judge of Thessaloniki to present their defenses. Initial investigations revealed that the accused conducted illegal excavations across various regions of the country, unearthing ancient artifacts and shipping them to auction houses abroad. Among those arrested were leading members of the trafficking network, including a prison officer from Trikala. This followed months of international investigation by the Directorate for the Suppression and Detection of Cultural Heritage Crimes, culminating in the recent arrests of those involved nationwide. In total, 1,800 archaeological items were seized, including numerous coins from different periods, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, and various objects resembling ancient masks and headpieces, with 800 found during searches in Germany. The recovered antiquities are undergoing detailed examination by officials from the responsible Thessaloniki Antiquities Ephorate, who will later determine their precise archaeological value. They face charges related to 12 offenses, including directing, forming, and joining a criminal organization, illegally excavating monuments of exceptional value, receiving and disposing of such monuments, unlawful export of cultural goods, money laundering from criminal activities, and illegal possession of weapons.