German authorities have arrested an alleged hitman accused of carrying out a series of killings linked to Greece’s so-called “Greek Mafia” underworld, following cooperation with Greek police, authorities said Friday.
The 31-year-old Georgian national was arrested in Germany under a European arrest warrant following an exchange of information between Greek and German authorities. He is wanted in Greece on suspicion of three murders and one attempted murder.
According to Greek police (ELAS), the suspect is an alleged member of a criminal organization dismantled in March 2025 that was involved in producing and distributing large quantities of contraband tobacco products in Athens, Thessaloniki and other parts of Greece.
Greek authorities say the man is suspected of involvement in the killings of alleged organized crime figures Yiannis Skaftouros, Vangelis Roumbetis and Dionysis Mouzakitis, as well as the attempted murder of another man in the northern city of Katerini. The attacks were linked to a violent turf war between rival groups associated with the “Greek Mafia,” a loose network of criminal gangs involved in protection rackets, smuggling and other illegal activities.
He is also wanted in connection with the January 14, 2024, killing of Evangelos Zambounis, who was gunned down outside his gas station in the Athens district of Neos Kosmos, and for alleged participation in a criminal organization linked to bombings and arson attacks.
