4 victims were rescued, who were provided with assistance and protection, with the assistance of specialized M.K.O. – Wheelchairs, among others, were confiscated
A criminal organization, whose members were active in the trafficking of foreign men, with the aim of exploiting their begging, was dismantled by the Sub-Directorate for Combating Trafficking and Trafficking in People and Goods of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime.
4 arrests
In order to end their action, a police operation was carried out in the early hours of yesterday, Tuesday, November 19, 2024, in an area of Attica, in the context of which -4- members of the organization were arrested, including the leader.
A case file was filed against them for criminal organization, human trafficking, exploitation of begging and possession of travel documents, while 2 more wanted members are accused of the same crimes.
A preliminary police investigation was conducted, from which the activity of the criminal organization was ascertained and the involvement of the defendants in the case was identified.
How did they act?
As it emerged, the defendants, at least since May 2021, had set up and joined an operationally structured organization, with continuous criminal activity and were recruiting, transporting and promoting to our country foreign compatriots, who were in a vulnerable position, with the aim of the professional exploitation of their begging.
In particular, the members of the organization would find people in their country who were facing economic, social, mental or mobility problems and, by falsely promising, either the securing of a legal job in Athens, or the return of part of the money they would collect from begging, they would extract consent for their transportation to Greek territory with business vehicles they had or with buses.
Afterwards, they settled their victims in a house they had rented in an area of Attica, where the basic rules of hygiene were not observed, while, in order to fully control their movements, they lived there themselves and withheld their travel documents.
In order to serve their purpose, the members of the criminal organization transported the victims daily, in the morning hours, with their business vehicles, to predetermined points in Attica, based on the high frequency of vehicle and pedestrian traffic, and forced them to carry out a long-hour begging.
In fact, in order to raise the awareness of the passers-by, they were provided with wheelchairs and other orthopedic-mobility support aids, which they were obliged to use while pretending to have mobility problems.
At the end of their begging, the members would pick up the victims and return them to the home, where they would withhold, on behalf of the organization, all the money they had collected, thus obtaining an illegal financial benefit.
At the same time, as part of the operation carried out, -4- victims of the organization were located inside the building, to whom assistance and protection was provided, in cooperation with specialized M.K.O.
What did the investigations find?
From the searches carried out, a total of the following were found and seized:
- -3- vehicles,
- -6- wheelchairs,
- orthopedic support aids,
- -980- euros and
- mobile phones.
Those arrested were taken to the competent prosecuting authority.
Source: Skai
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