Arms smugglers arrested in Athens and Ioannina

Three Albanian nationals, aged 18, 20 and 36 years old, respectively, and two locals, a 48-year-old woman and 45-year-old man, have been arrested for illegally trading in arms, law enforcement authorities announced on Tuesday. The five arrests were made following a coordinated police operation in Ioannina, northwest Greece and Acharnes, in the greater Athens region.

The police operation was mounted following a tip off that the suspects were engaging in smuggling guns, bullets and hand grenades into Greece from the neighboring Albania.

In the possession of the suspects, police foundp and seized four army shotguns, a machinegun, two AK-47s and a double-barreled gun, 25 hand grenades, and 297 bullets of various calibers.

All the suspects were led before an Athens prosecutor while a police investigation continues for the arrest of more ring members.