Thessaloniki: Two Turkish Mafia Members Extradited from Bulgaria for Shooting at EUP Officials

Two Turks who were arrested in connection with the shooting incident against European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EUP) officials last month in Thermi, Thessaloniki, have been extradited to Greece from Bulgaria. They were detained just days after the incident in the Bulgarian city of Svilengrad near the Turkish border, where they had fled. Immediate extradition procedures began and in recent hours, Bulgarian police handed them over to their Greek counterparts at the Promachonas border checkpoint. The two Turkish nationals, aged 23 and 43, who are wanted for criminal acts, are expected to be brought before the courts in Thessaloniki to appear before the 5th Tactical Investigating Judge handling the case. Previously, their 49-year-old compatriot and main suspect — the driver of the jeep that opened fire — was arrested in the village of Kato Vrysinas in the mountainous Rhodope region. He has already appeared in court, and it was decided to place him under temporary detention. According to reports, he claimed that he acted out of fear and panic, believing he was being threatened by people associated with his country’s secret services. “Under no circumstances would I have acted this way if I knew they were EUP officials,” he reportedly apologized, asking for forgiveness for his actions.