Shocking details are coming to light regarding the actions of gang members who forced students to sell drugs even inside schools. Moreover, if the minors didn’t do what was asked of them, they faced punishment and torture. The images captured on video are shocking, showing one of the minors sometimes being beaten, other times forced to kneel, and at times being forced to smoke.
The “masterminds” of the ring were characterized as violent and ruthless. The conversations recorded by authorities are telling:
– Gang leader: Come on… why are you hanging up on me, don’t make me…
– Student: I did it by mistake.
– Gang leader: F… your house… Where are you?
– Student: School.
– Gang leader: “Hey idiot, I’ll f… your house, idiot. Have I told you when… don’t…”
It’s noted that the minors were pushing cannabis and cocaine mainly in Nea Philadelphia, Nea Chalkidona and Ano Patisia, while the leader and deputy leader would extinguish cigarettes on the minors’ bodies when they didn’t follow discipline rules.
Other conversations record instructions for transactions and even threats from the leader toward a minor over money he allegedly owed them, threatening him with beatings.
– Gang leader: Where are you?
– Student: School.
– Gang leader: Fine, without much talk. Don’t bother me with “I have school, I have this, I have that.” Jump the fence, go get some “quick cash,” rush and bring it there to the square behind your father.
– Student: In how long?
– Gang leader: Max five minutes to be there, because if you’re not there in five minutes I swear you’ll get beaten badly, bro.
Authorities raided houses and schools, finding quantities of cocaine and cannabis carefully hidden in containers, even in wall hiding spots, precision scales and numerous mobile phones.
It’s worth noting that authorities arrested 12 people, including six students.
“I had no idea,” says student’s mother
“I had no idea, I knew and thought he was working delivery. The police informed me and the only thing I had seen, I had noticed was strange behavior. He reacted to any topic. There were some reactions in the child. I saw him tired the last month and with some marks. As time passed I saw him getting worse, I pressured him to talk to me but the truth is he wouldn’t talk to me, he wouldn’t say anything. Now lately he started opening up and told me that every time he didn’t do exactly what they told him, then they would set him up below the house as soon as he returned from work,” says the mother of a 16-year-old to Live News.
And she continues: “He told me there were three people and they beat him. One of them would even extinguish, the child told me, cigarettes on his back, leg and stomach and they would ask him ‘will you do it again?’ My nephew almost got involved too. The boy wanted to make his expenses, the child wanted to make his expenses because we couldn’t help him financially, of course if I knew this would happen there was no way we would ever let him like this. The beating my child took, let those people who beat him pay for it.”
