The Greek police dismantled a criminal organization that committed fraud and theft against citizens, mainly elderly people, by posing as employees of an electricity company, following an operation by the Sub-Directorate for the Investigation and Detection of Crimes of Northeast Attica.
In the framework of the operation, which took place in the morning hours of Tuesday, May 5, six persons aged 18, 33, 35, 40, 48 and 60 were arrested, while the case file includes two more persons who have been identified and are wanted. The accused face charges of, among others, forming and participating in a criminal organisation, grand theft, professional fraud, money laundering and counterfeiting.
As for the structure and modus operandi of the organization, according to the ELAS, it was divided into a “telephone outreach group” whose members held a leadership and mentoring role and a “field operational group”.
More specifically, the members of the “telephone approach team”, having set up a specific area in the Ano Liosia area as an operational headquarters, which also functioned as a call centre, made telephone communications using “operational” telephone connections registered to non-existent persons (ghostphones), which they regularly encapsulated.
Attracting employees of an electricity supply company and under the pretext of an alleged leak or high voltage at the victims’ homes, and exerting psychological pressure about an imminent explosion, they asked them to place jewellery, valuables and sums of money in specific locations near the main door, either inside or outside the homes.
In fact, they did not even hesitate to pose as police officers in order to deter victims from making a complaint.
Then the members of the “operational field team” took over, who were tasked with going to the victims’ homes in an “operational” vehicle and collecting the jewellery, valuables and cash.
To make it difficult to locate and arrest them, sub-group members (lookouts) remained in the “operational” vehicles in order to alert their accomplices in case they perceived the appearance of police forces.
Members of the “telephone outreach team” kept the victims in constant telephone contact until the “field operations team” went to the home and extracted the jewelry, valuables and cash so that the victims would not make eye contact with the perpetrators and make it difficult to identify them.
It should be noted that members of the “operational field team” moved via motorways when moving in and out of homes, using “operational” vehicles, which they hired from car rental companies, and took special protective measures, wearing hats, masks and goggles.
The searches resulted in the seizure of mobile phones, SIM cards, bank cards, gold jewellery and coins, high-value watches and a sum of money. In addition, a vehicle used for the activities of the organisation was seized.
So far 33 cases of fraud and theft have been detected in various areas of Attica, while , according to the ELAS, the illegal financial benefit of the organization is estimated to exceed 273.000 euros.
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