Statistics show an increasing trend in arrests of minors involved in drug trafficking near or even inside schools over the past two years, with police describing the situation as having “alarming dimensions.” The dismantling of a network of 12 individuals just days ago, including six high school students, has put the Drug Enforcement Unit on high alert, while torture of minor dealers has been revealed. Children aged 15, 16, and 17 were selling drugs to their classmates or students from other schools in Nea Philadelphia, Nea Chalkidona, and Patisia, while under the guidance of the gang’s leadership, they also trafficked drugs in football stadium stands in the aforementioned areas.
The most alarming element is that they were attempting to distribute cocaine to students. With “half doses” – as they called them – meaning lower concentration cocaine in one gram or half-gram doses, the minor dealers would lure their classmates. “Want to stay up all night? Want to perform better?” were some of their selling points.
From transcribed conversations in police possession, it emerges that the six adults demanded military-style discipline from the minor dealers. Anyone who delayed making payments, didn’t answer gang members’ calls promptly, or didn’t make enough sales faced unprecedented intimidation. In one case, 20-year-old “Fratello” – the alleged leader – extinguished a cigarette on a minor dealer’s hand for delaying profit delivery. Latest-generation mobile phones, watches, and substantial monthly allowances to frequent upscale establishments were what the gang promised to lure the children. However, reality was different. Threats, intimidation, and beatings characterized the daily life of minors who realized they couldn’t escape the network. The following dialogue between one of the adults and one of the six minor dealers is characteristic:
– 20-year-old: Where are you?
– Minor: School.
– 20-year-old: By the 6th of the month you need to bring 200 euros, understand? Fine, without excuses like “I have school, I have this, I have that.” Jump the fence. Go grab some money quickly and bring it to the square.
– Minor: In how long?
– 20-year-old: Maximum five minutes to be there. Because if you’re not there in five minutes, I swear you’ll get beaten badly, bro.
The minor dealers were given code names. The 17-year-old dealers were “Pipis,” “Nitze,” “Sony,” and “Nikola,” the 16-year-old was “Farou,” and the 15-year-old was “Fesi.” What also emerged from recorded conversations is that the minor dealers had drugs with them during their recent school trip to Crete to supply their classmates.
Statistics on the drug scourge among young people are disappointing: In 2024, among 16-year-olds in Greece, one in eight has used some substance at least once, with the majority having tried cannabis. Data from the 2024 “European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs” conducted in 6,810 students from 488 schools reveals a notable finding. One in three teenagers believes it would be “quite” or “very easy” to find cannabis if they wanted it. 6.2% reported using it in the past month, while 2% of teenagers began using the substance before age 13.
