Six men gunned down in Loutsa were part of a criminal ring abroad; two homes searched in Attica

Six men who were shot down in the coastal town of Artemis (Loutsa) on Monday are Turkish nationals, members of a criminal ring active in European Union countries but not Greece, sources of the Hellenic Police said on Wednesday.

Six men gunned down in Loutsa were part of a criminal ring abroad; two homes searched in Attica
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Five of the six dead men carried fake French identification, while the sixth one was identified through fingerprints. They were identified following direct communication and collaboration with Europol and Interpol, as well as through direct contacts with French and Turkish police.

According to the same sources, Greek police found the house in Artemida where the victims stayed the last few days. A search was carried out at the house in the presence of a judicial official on Tuesday, and the findings have been sent for laboratory analysis. On Tuesday, a second house the six had rented was found in Paleo Faliro, the coastal town south of Athens, also searched.

The six men's cellphones are being examined by police, while the car they used when they were gunned down originates in Germany. It had fake German license plates and belongs to a Romanian citizen, who had given it to the victims.

The attackers, sources said, appeared to have used four firearms, two of which were types of pistols.

In a separate incident on Monday, a Turkish national was arrested at the Athens International Airport and is being investigated for possible connections to the crime in Artemida. The man lives in Greece legally and planned to travel to Mytilini on Lesvos island on a ticket issued in his name an hour after the murders. (The crime took place at 18:30 on Monday, the ticket was issued at 19:30 for a 21:00 flight, and he was arrested at the airport at 20:30.) Officials found in his possession four 9 mm cartridges and two fake Portuguese identifications.

Police sources said investigations continue, while anything funneled to public opinon in relation to the case is not the official stance of the Greek police, neither does it necessarily reflect reality.

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