- Authorities arrested ten people after a months-long investigation in Mylopotamos, Rethymno.
- Police allege the group was involved in fraud involving livestock subsidies and drug trafficking.
- Searches uncovered a cannabis plantation, nearly 1 kg of cannabis, weapons, cash, vehicles and other evidence.
- Investigators also found discrepancies between declared and physically counted livestock.
A months-long, meticulous investigation by the Rethymno Drug Law Enforcement Department culminated in a massive coordinated raid. Backed by the Cretan Special Counter-Anti-Terrorism Unit (EKAM), local tactical teams, and rapid-response units from Rethymno and Heraklion, officers descended upon rural hideouts, residential properties, and isolated pastoral folds.
The syndicate allegedly operated a dual-track criminal enterprise: milking the agricultural subsidy system through fraudulent livestock declarations while simultaneously pushing narcotics. Investigators found that the illicit profits were routinely laundered into movable and immovable assets, tightening the group’s grip on the local rural economy.
The Haul
During the coordinated sweeps across the municipality, law enforcement officers dismantled an active cannabis cultivation site near a livestock enclosure, seizing eleven towering plants reaching up to three meters in height.
The physical inventory seized by authorities includes:
- 995 grams of raw cannabis
- 1,850 euros in cash from suspected criminal proceeds
- 3 hunting knives and 2 digital scales
- 18 mobile phones alongside a dense stack of invoices and commercial receipts
- 7 pickup trucks, 1 passenger vehicle, and 1 heavy construction machine
Pastoral Deception and Local Vendettas
Inspections at the suspects’ livestock yards revealed systematic violations of pastoral regulations, including missing flocks and a blatant inability to muster the livestock declared on official state papers. Investigators exposed a shell game in which members without their own herds borrowed sheep and goats from fellow syndicate members just moments before state inspectors arrived for audits.
Beyond the subsidy fraud, the ring’s footprint extended into rural intimidation and property destruction. Members were tied to a series of coordinated attacks dating back through the summer, including deliberate vandalism targeting olive groves and heavy machinery, alongside the outright theft of contractor equipment earlier in September.
“The months-long, thorough, and in-depth investigation, as well as the collection and analysis of data…” — General Regional Police Directorate of Crete
The preliminary inquiry remains active under the Rethymno Drug Law Enforcement Department, with further financial audits expected to trace the full extent of the misappropriated EU and national agricultural funds.
