Greek police have seized 11 tonnes of antiseptic gel from a warehouse owned by a Roma mafia boss who sought to profit from the ongoing Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
Police found the medical equipment in a warehouse in Elefsina near Athens that reportedly belongs to 40-year-old Dimitriou Sefentinoglou, also known by his nickname “Sefkis”.
The police were able to confiscate the products, which were imported from Cyprus, because the antiseptic gel had not been declared to the government as per Greece’s emergency measures designed to combat the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
Police are now investigating whether there is a more extensive network involved in importing medical products without declaration in order to sell them at much higher prices, Greek newspaper Proto Thema reports.
Sefkis is said to be the boss of one of Greece’s largest Roma mafia groups. The gang was subject to investigation in 2017 and was believed to be behind at least 3,000 robberies worth a total of €50 million.
During the investigations in 2017, police arrested 115 people and seized hundreds of expensive watches, 60 supercars, and large amounts of gold, silver, and diamonds.
A report from the European Union police agency Europol revealed that organised criminal gangs are using the coronavirus pandemic to their advantage and warned that many might be selling counterfeit medical equipment and supplies.
“There is a particularly high demand for certain types of healthcare and sanitary products (masks, gloves, cleaning products, pharmaceutical products), which has created a substantial market for product counterfeiters, fraudsters, and profiteers,” the agency said.
In France, a gang of underage Moroccan migrants was arrested after the suspects had robbed at least 28 pharmacies in and around the city of Bordeaux. While all four of those arrested claimed to be minors, it is believed at least two of them are adults.