A criminal gang that committed robberies and thefts, primarily targeting health food stores in West Attica areas, was dismantled by police officers from the West Attica Crime Investigation and Detection Subdivision, in collaboration with the Crime Investigation Departments of Haidari and Aigaleo. On Friday morning, January 23, two young men aged 19 and 21 were arrested in the Haidari area as members of the gang, while their participation in a series of criminal activities was confirmed.
Read: Random check exposes gang: Police seize over €38,000 and jewelry in Agios Panteleimonas operation
The previous day, the accused had committed a robbery at a health food store in the Haidari area, from where they stole money from an employee under threat of using a gun and knife. Criminal charges were filed against them for – as applicable – forming a criminal gang that commits completed and attempted robberies and thefts, acting in conspiracy, repeatedly and professionally, violation of weapons laws, dangerous bodily harm, and violation of narcotics legislation.
The gang’s operations – What authorities seized
According to preliminary investigation findings, the accused had formed and joined a criminal gang since at least early 2025, with the purpose of committing robberies and thefts primarily at health food stores and obtaining illegal financial gain. Regarding their methodology, the gang members operated mainly during late-night to early morning hours, selecting stores that operated during these hours and where they had either worked previously or visited earlier to conduct surveillance of the premises. They would then enter with their faces covered by masks and hoods, and after immobilizing employees with threats of using pistols and knives, they would steal cash.
In many cases, before committing the robberies, they would steal motorcycles which they used to approach and escape from the robbery locations. In one instance, the perpetrators did not hesitate to injure an employee using an air gun.
Searches conducted at the suspects’ homes revealed and seized the following items:
• clothing they had used during the commission of criminal acts,
• 7 air gun gas cartridges,
• 2 grinders, and
• small amounts of cannabis.
Indicative of their brazen behavior is the fact that they had hidden an air pistol, knife, and gloves used in their criminal activities in a bushy area in the courtyard of a school building in Haidari. The preliminary investigation has so far solved 17 cases of robberies and thefts in Haidari, Aigaleo, and Peristeri. The arrested individuals were brought before the competent prosecutor.
