Greece detains 16 people for involvement in Turkish criminal gangs

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police have detained 16 people and confiscated drugs and weapons in an operation aimed at dismantling Turkish criminal groups active in the country, authorities said on Wednesday.

In recent years, Greece has seen a significant rise in the number of Turkish nationals involved in shootings or arrested for gun possession.

Police sources have linked the increase to a bigger presence in Greece of Turkish criminal gang members who have fled Turkey and clash with each other on foreign ground.

This week, two Turkish nationals died and one was seriously hurt during a gun attack in southern Athens, which is under investigation.

Police said in November that they had dismantled a multi-member Turkish drug trafficking gang. In June, a 22-year old Turkish national was jailed pending trial after killing another Turk and seriously injuring a third in a gun attack at the port city of Piraeus.

(Reporting by Yannis Souliotis; Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Christina Fincher)

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