On May 29, at the Three-member Misdemeanor Court of Heraklion, the trial of the case has been determined after postponements liquor smuggling from a circuit that operated in Rhodes and Crete.

Accused in the case it is 51 people, ten of the defendants are residents of Rhodes.
The case file was filed by the Organized Crime Department of the Police Directorate of Crete.
As brain a 62-year-old Cretan is charged with the ring.
On December 30, 2017, the police officers arrested four nationals (three men and one woman) aged 62, 57, 38 and 30 respectively, against whom a case file was filed for violation of the National Customs Code Legislation, while in the relevant ten more people are included in the case file.

More specifically, the 62-year-old, exploited the special taxation regime applied in the Region of the Dodecanese for ethyl alcohol was procured – traded and made available for consumption, without written permission from the competent customs authority.

It was supplied at reduced prices large quantities of alcoholic beverages from businesses selling alcoholic beverages located on the island of Rhodes N. Dodecanese, where a fifty percent (50%) reduced rate of Special Consumption Tax (SCT) on ethyl alcohol applies.
For the goods in question (alcoholic beverages) there was virtual sale, to businessmen of Rhodes, while in fact, (with the immediate and necessary assistance of executives of a transport company of Rhodes) they were being smuggled from the island of Rhodes to Heraklion in Crete without being declared to the customs authority for the payment of the corresponding tax.

The 62-year-old collected the alcoholic beverages from the office of a transport company in Heraklion and then proceeded to further sell them, either in wine cellars in Neapoli and Agios Nikolaos, or to other businessmen – owners of health stores in Heraklion for the purpose of profit. From the preliminary investigation carried out, it emerged that during the period of time at least from 28.10.2017 until his arrest, the 62-year-old illegally procured and trafficked alcoholic beverages from the Dodecanese in Crete on an almost weekly basis, providing himself with an illegal financial benefit.
From iby research it emerged that the 62-year-old with the assistance of a 45-year-old man from Rhodes, who was also his link with other businessmen of Rhodes, a 31-year-old manager of a transport company in Rhodes, a 38-year-old man from Rhodes, manager of the winery in Rhodes, a 33-year-old man from Rhodes, manager of the sales store of wholesale goods in Rhodes, illegally procured and traded alcoholic beverages, while the purchase documents for the beverages were issued in the name of two businessmen from Rhodes, aged 45 and 31.
There were agreements between the parties involved recorded moreover, from the bug of EL.AS., while it emerged that the vast majority of the drinks ended up in two wine cellars for resale in Neapoli and Agios Nikolaos, Crete.
The 62-year-old was also allegedly assisted by two Romanian women, who hid part of the contraband alcoholic beverages. From the same investigation, it is alleged that it also emerged that the 62-year-old was provided with direct or simple assistance in smuggling by other Rhodesians, namely a 39-year-old driver, a 44-year-old employee of the wholesale company, a 42-year-old employee of the same company, a 45-year-old employee of the winery, a 52-year-old woman businessman and a 51-year-old businessman.
It also emerged that during the period of the investigation the 62-year-old procured, traveled from Rhodes to Crete and traded, moreover 2,832 bottles of various types of alcoholic beverages, while in order to meet the increased demand due to the festive three-day period of the New Year, he had arrived on Wednesday 27.12.2017 in the island of Rhodes, where he arranged for the additional supply in the same way, of various types of alcoholic beverages from specific sales businesses , which they had placed in a vehicle that would come from Rhodes by liner to Heraklion, Crete.
In the course of the investigation it emerged that the total of the evading duties it is about 46,000 euros.