Plakias Forums
Ostraco's Bar => Gossip => Topic started by: Chris H. on November 21, 2007, 08:03:54 PM
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Wow! Did you read this article in the Independant?
Greek police retreat after ambush by Cretan drug gangsters
By Daniel Howden in Athens
Published: 12 November 2007
The ambush was not wholly unexpected. More than 40 armed police officers arrived at the Cretan mountain village of Zoniana in a convoy of a dozen vehicles. But even they were shocked by the force of the response as at least 20 gunmen opened fire on them with Kalashnikov assault rifles before they could pass the first houses in the village.
The one-sided gun battle lasted a matter of minutes as the police who had come searching for drugs withdrew with three officers wounded, one seriously.
What the firefight has achieved is the lifting of a veil of silence surrounding Zoniana that appears to have been at the centre of a lawless mini-republic controlling orchards of cannabis plants, drug dealing, protection rackets and armed robbery from a mountain base among the olive trees and the shepherds.
Crete has long been famed for its independent streak. It has the highest gun ownership rates in the European Union and even a high profile weapons amnesty, led by the composer Mikis Theodorakis, who was born on the island, has failed to end Cretans' love affair with guns.
However, the lax attitude to law enforcement and the culture of non-co-operation with the state appears to have spawned a criminal enterprise in the mountains that the rest of the island can no longer tolerate.
Last week, the Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis was forced to give assurances in parliament that the law does apply even above sea level in Crete: "We will no longer tolerate behaviour outside the law – the law applies to everyone and will be enforced for everyone," he said.
The ferocity of the ambush on the local police unit prompted authorities to fly in 75 officers from an elite unit in Athens who have succeeded where none of their colleagues had previously by maintaining a presence inside Zoniana for six consecutive days. Despite being home to more than 1,600 residents, neither Zoniana or any of the other villages – all within an hour's drive of the tourist resort of Rethymnon – has a police station. The bullet-ridden signposts that mark the entry and exit to the village make it clear that the law is not welcome.
By the time the main force of police arrived at the village on 7 November, up to 200 local males had disappeared and hundreds of hectares of cannabis plants had been removed from earth among the olive orchards where police sources say they were located to make use of the natural camouflage.
So far, 14 arrests have been made and a torrent of evidence from stolen cash machines to explosives has emerged to reveal the extraordinary lives led by many of the villagers.
A local man who claimed to police that he was a shepherd was found to have more than ¿1.5m (£1m) in his account. Local media claim the initial raid was prompted by the arrest of a man from Zoniana who was picked up driving a new Porsche and stated his profession as builder. Unconfirmed reports stated that the unnamed man had up to ¿6m in the bank.
On Friday, police were confronted by angry local men in who demanded the police presence be removed from the village immediately. A school has been closed until the police withdraw.
Interesting uh?
Anyone ever been there?
Chris H.
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This has been going on for a while. The latest is that the police officer who was seriously injured is still critical and may not live. For several years there have been problems in the Milopotamus region which includes Zoniana but now the police have discovered links with the Rethymnon police and the police chief of Rethymnon has been removed from office and is undergoing investigation. Maybe this will be the end of it to some extent. The people there are fed up with it but cannot speak.
Zoniana has a truly wonderful cave that you can visit, especially now they have removed the pistols etc.
Ray
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Here's the latest from ERT Greece:
The police manhunt in the wider area of Mylopotamos, Crete, is continuing under nasty weather conditions. No findings have been unveiled and no arrests have been made so far. In the meantime, authorities are probing the bank accounts of people living in the village of Zoniana and the mountainous areas of Mylopotamos believed to have been involved in illegal activities. Although the results the police operation has yielded have yet to come out, flash information speaks of really impressive ones.
In the meantime, Efstathios Lazaridis, the special guard who was seriously injured during a police raid in the area, is still in critical condition after undergoing a new surgery. Calling his condition stable but critical, doctors cannot yet be positive on the outcome.
A young man, wanted by the police for being involved in an ambush during which three special guards were injured, one of which seriously, turned himself in to the Heraklion police. On 2 November, the man had managed to escape a road-block set up by the police. He was also accompanied by his cousin, whom the police arrested on charges of drug trafficking. Meanwhile, more police are expected in Milopotamos to help in locating organized crime rings in the area. The police believe they are very close in discovering the culprits, as the only thing they want is inconvertible evidence that will prove their guilt.
At the same time, Prosecutors are re-examining old cases related to drug and weapons trafficking in the last 12 years, with focus on one case as per which hashish saplings were discovered in the Rethymno University compound.
Ray
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The bullet-ridden signposts that mark the entry and exit to the village make it clear that the law is not welcome.
that's a statement of some one that's not traveled much in Crete
(http://harribobs.smugmug.com/photos/72724275-S.jpg)
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Yeah Harribobs tell me about it. Almost every sign has bulletholes. Especially in the junta days when their phoenix sign was decimated in Crete.
Crete is Crete.
And the Independent is . . . . whatever?
Ray
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So how come the people who live here are so perfect and free from crime??
[attachment=543:Kalikratis.JPG]
perhaps goats don't own guns .
george g...
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So how come the people who live here are so perfect and free from crime??
[attachment=543:Kalikratis.JPG]
perhaps goats don't own guns .
george g...
You must have taken this picture while the concrete on the posts was still drying.
Pete&Dawn
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So how come the people who live here are so perfect and free from crime??
george g...
Well perhaps it is a matter of degree and no perceived crime with respect to tourists. Owning all these guns is a major crime in itself - sort of ignored to date by the authorities - just imagine that level of illicit gun ownership in the UK.
When we stayed near Rethymnon about 11 years ago (pre Plakias) there was an incident in the neighbouring village to where this latest incident happened. It occurred on the day after we were there. A taxi was shot up (no casualties) in the mistaken belief that it was a police car - simply a no go area for the police. Then to keep police from coming back and making arrests for that incident they held the local bus and passengers hostage. The Rough guide gives an insight on the richness of the village concerned in the latest incident (now we know why). It mentions how wealthy the place is with posh clubs and bars unlike any others found in Crete attributing all of this to the wealth of the local sheep farmers !!.
John R
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what's the betting for next year?
(http://harribobs.smugmug.com/photos/224240314-S.jpg)
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what's the betting for next year?
([url]http://harribobs.smugmug.com/photos/224240314-S.jpg[/url])
Now we know who the culprit is!!!!!!!!!!!
Pete&Dawn
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what's the betting for next year?
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An interesting topic. I have to say that I always feel very safe in Crete, and Greece more widely, from humans. Dogs are another matter but that's just a personal concern of mine when they are untethered.
Mike
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As people have said this has been an ongoing problem for several years, two years ago they sent in the helicopters to destroy the cannibis fields but they got shot at, not much action taken then.
One of our cigarette suppliers was held up at gun point this autumn near Anoyia (just down the road from Zoniana) and his van, money and all the cigarettes were taken. Police took no action when they heard the van had taken off in the Zoniana direction. Makes you wonder if this is where our cigarettes went 2 years ago.
They also found 4 cash machines in the village vacinity which had been pulled out of walls over the last few years.
It had to be said that it is not all residents in this and other villages that are responsible and the authorities are now trying to improve facilities in these villages to help the law abiding families.
Last winter we went for a drive with a friend and stopped at the cave just outside Zoniana, we did not feel very comfortable there especially when about 3 or 4 cars full of youngsters turned up shortly after us. Apparently one house was found to have a whole bank of CCTV equipment and there were surveillance cameras placed throughout the village. Don't think we will be going back there for a while. But I am sure these places are fine to visit in the summer months and in fact one of the guide books say these are very traditional villages where alot of the older locals go out in the evening in the traditional dress in the evening and the youngsters like to practise their English. Just not sure if the English goes as far as 'You want hashish'
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This report appears in today's edition of Kathimerini:
Key Zoniana suspect faces judge
A 24-year-old Cretan, who is believed to have been involved in a bloody attack on a police convoy near the mountain village of Zoniana earlier this month, is to face an investigating magistrate tomorrow. The suspect is also believed to have played a prominent role in the local drug trade.
Police files on the 24-year-old, and on another six Cretans, suggest that most drug transactions in the region take place along a 17-kilometer stretch of road between Iraklion and Rethymnon.
Drug dealers choose this stretch of road to make exchanges as “it is a difficult spot to set up a police blockade – very busy and potentially dangerous,” a local officer told Kathimerini. The exchanges involve cars being switched and bags of drugs being thrown out onto the road, he said.
Six of the seven suspects were arrested during a thwarted exchange of drugs that took place on the aforementioned stretch of road on November 2, a few days before the attack on police by gun-toting locals at Zoniana.
The 24-year-old suspect, who turned himself in to police on Wednesday after eluding arrest on November 2, is believed to have been one of the drivers. According to sources, he denies any involvement in the thwarted operation.
Police yesterday continued their search of homes and stores in and around Zoniana. A search of the cafe of a 52-year-old resident turned up 12 kilos of dynamite, large quantities of cannabis and more than 20 knives. The 52-year-old and his two sons, 22 and 24, were arrested.
Meanwhile the 28-year-old officer who was shot in the head during the aborted police raid on Zoniana remains in a critical condition, doctors said.
Doctors said the condition of Efstathios Lazaridis is extremely serious but stable.
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We had some fun on Sunday afternoon. The local football team, Finikas, were playing Zoniana and posters appeared locally asking for support for the game. Zoniana are near the top of the division and Finikas about 10 places behind them.
There was a good size crowd of all ages and a generally party atmosphere. Zoniana unfortunately scored in the first half and everyone on the pitch was getting very rattled, both sides. During the second half Finikas scored and the crowd went wild, fire crackers and flares being let off all over the places to the extent that you couldn't see the pitch. At this point Zoniana 'lost it' and started arguing amongst themselves. Finikas were looking promising for getting a second goal when one of the Zoniana players was given a yellow card which he took exception to and pushed the ref, surprise surpise he then got a red. At this point the ref had obviously had enough and blew the whistle for the end of game, well early. The teams headed back to their changing rooms where a full scale fight broke out between the Zoniana players and some of their 'supporters'.
Saw some of the Finikas players and management later they were really happy to come away with a draw.
Bring on the return game!!!
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That's got to be worth a long weekend!
george g...
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We had some fun on Sunday afternoon. The local football team, Finikas, were playing Zoniana and posters appeared locally asking for support for the game. Zoniana are near the top of the division and Finikas about 10 places behind them.
There was a good size crowd of all ages and a generally party atmosphere. Zoniana unfortunately scored in the first half and everyone on the pitch was getting very rattled, both sides. During the second half Finikas scored and the crowd went wild, fire crackers and flares being let off all over the places to the extent that you couldn't see the pitch. At this point Zoniana 'lost it' and started arguing amongst themselves. Finikas were looking promising for getting a second goal when one of the Zoniana players was given a yellow card which he took exception to and pushed the ref, surprise surpise he then got a red. At this point the ref had obviously had enough and blew the whistle for the end of game, well early. The teams headed back to their changing rooms where a full scale fight broke out between the Zoniana players and some of their 'supporters'.
Saw some of the Finikas players and management later they were really happy to come away with a draw.
Bring on the return game!!!
Sounds like a great game
Peter&Dawn
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We had some fun on Sunday afternoon. The local football team, Finikas, were playing Zoniana and posters appeared locally asking for support for the game. Zoniana are near the top of the division and Finikas about 10 places behind them.
There was a good size crowd of all ages and a generally party atmosphere. Zoniana unfortunately scored in the first half and everyone on the pitch was getting very rattled, both sides. During the second half Finikas scored and the crowd went wild, fire crackers and flares being let off all over the places to the extent that you couldn't see the pitch. At this point Zoniana 'lost it' and started arguing amongst themselves. Finikas were looking promising for getting a second goal when one of the Zoniana players was given a yellow card which he took exception to and pushed the ref, surprise surpise he then got a red. At this point the ref had obviously had enough and blew the whistle for the end of game, well early. The teams headed back to their changing rooms where a full scale fight broke out between the Zoniana players and some of their 'supporters'.
Saw some of the Finikas players and management later they were really happy to come away with a draw.
Bring on the return game!!!
So, is the Finikas manager out finding somebody to sponsor team flack-jackets? (http://bestsmileys.com/shooting1/12.gif)
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Another incident:
Hash-growers Shot Policemen
Kalaznikof Attack
23 June 2008 08:13:0
By Anna Kourti
Sources: ΑNA-ΜPA
Greek Police have launched a manhunt on the island of Crete to arrest the hash-growers who shot and wounded three policemen on Sunday. Athens police forces as well as EKAM and a Hellas helicopter have joined in the police operation. The three policemen were transferred to Eraklio University Hospital while one of them shot in the head is in critical condition. The incident, which reminds of Zogiana case last autumn, occurred when hash growers opened fire with Kalaznikof guns against the policemen
One Policeman Seriously Wounded
Another bloody incident involving hash growers on the island of Crete and policemen raises questions regarding effectiveness of administrative authorities.
The three policemen shot by Malades hash growers shortly before 21:00, on Sunday are Theodoros Genitsaridis, 38 , who underwent operation in the head, is in critical condition, George Poulinakis, 31, underwent surgery in the leg and his condition is serious and George Tsiminakis, 47 who is in good condition. Hash growers opened fire at them with what is believed Kalaznikof guns
Police special force rapidly arrived in the region and launched a manhunt to arrest the culprits. Hellas Police chief ordered the dispatch of forces from Athens to carry out an operation similar to Zoniana last autumn.
On the occasion of the fresh bloody incident in Crete, Interior Minister, Prokopis Pavlopoulos and undersecretary Panagiotis Hinofotis issued a joint communiqué underlining: "Brutal representatives of organized crime must realize that the crime ring on the island of Crete has been broken up. Law and order will take effect. The blood of Hellas Police forces, who defend society and legality under aggravating circumstances will not go in vain".
Translated by John Crystallidis
Chris H.
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This is a bit worrying. It had been suggested that maybe some people had started operating from another area when an ATM got pulled out of a wall (previously three stolen found in Zoniana). It's of great concern the way they seem to have such willingness to shot people.
What worries me is that some reporting i.e. BBC World, make it sound as though the whole island is run by mafia when it is actually a relatively small number of people with in isolated places.
Ali