In an “operation sweep”, following a four-month investigation, authorities raided homes and arrested dozens of suspects for participation in a criminal organization and conspiracy in incidents of sports violence. Among those arrested for the murder of the 31-year-old policeman Giorgos Lyggeridis from a flare in Rentis he is also said to be the man who gave the order for the murderous attack.

It’s about “chilling out” the recruiting pool of criminal groups, police officers reported to SKAI and Panagiotis Spyropoulos. In the operation that has been ongoing since the morning, in which the sub-directorate to deal with violence in sports venues, at least 57 arrests have been made.

This is a new case file, with a total of 158 defendants, which concerns moral complicity in the murder of the 31-year-old police officer George Lyggeridis to Rentis and the criminal organization involved in at least 10 and possibly more incidents of violence and attacks at sporting events. Dozens of house searches have evolved, various persuasions have been seized, the evidence that has emerged from the declassification of communications as well as suspect connections and DNA results, as well as from people who wanted to be in the witness protection program, is important. . There are several findings such as clothing found in the homes of the arrested and identified with the videos of the attacks, but DNA was also identified from burnt clothes found in the toilets of the closed gym, while credentials for matches of the Super League of a certain football team were also identified.

According to police sources most of those arrested are leading members of these links, with some of them having participated in episodes even 16 years ago. According to police sources, the leaders, including the 27-year-old manager Trapper), the organizers (the deputy leaders), the group leaders, the transmitters of orders and actions, the weapons storekeepers and the people who made up the strike groups have been arrested.

We are talking about leaders of the leading groups of the links who apparently were the ones who organized the incidents. The ELAS sources typically state that they themselves recruited young people from associations that, as traveling armies, participated in incidents, attacks and other criminal actions. The “most capable” were selected for participation in more serious crimes, possibly also crimes that involved the Greek mafia.

As far as the activity of the specific criminal organization is concerned, apparently the incidents in which the “armies” had participated were in Ioannina, Volos, Attica, Malakasa, Ilion, New Philadelphia, Crete but and Tripoli. “What happened at the closed gym ‘Melina Merkouri’ according to competent officers was retaliation for what happened four days earlier in Volos, with the attacks of police forces.

The ELAS announcement

“It has been in full swing since the early hours of the morning today large-scale operation of the Sub-Directorate for Combating Violence in Sports Venues of the Attica Security Directorate for the arrest of individuals involved in the incident of fatal injury to a police officer on 7/12/2023 at a sports event in Renti. So far, dozens of people have been brought in, as well as a large number of searches in homes and vehicles, while various items of evidence have been seized. A newer update will follow.”