A criminal organisation carrying out burglaries of homes, with Spata among the areas where it operated, has been dismantled by the Hellenic Police. In an operation on the morning of Thursday 17 September three foreign nationals were arrested, while another five members were identified — two of them already in prison and three abroad. Twenty-three cases of burglary, theft and attempted theft have been solved, with total proceeds exceeding 179,000 euros.
The method is the part that concerns every resident of Artemida and Spata directly. According to the police statement, members of the gang drove around neighbourhoods at night and made a note of apartment blocks. They then marked doors, so as to confirm whether a home was still empty. A mark that stays untouched for days means nobody is coming or going — and that is when they went in.
Entry was made with keys, by forcing the lock, or through skylights and balcony doors, with one of the group staying outside as a lookout. They used rental cars registered to third parties and phones with SIM cards in false names. They worked in two teams from a shared base, so as to fit more jobs into the same day, and stepped up their activity on public holidays and during holiday periods — when houses are left empty.
The gang also had an informant. A 48-year-old woman working as a domestic cleaner passed on details about houses and about when the occupants would be away. In the hierarchy, a 37-year-old acted as leader and coordinator, a 43-year-old handled operational coordination and vehicle movements, and a 22-year-old took on outside surveillance. The group's activity is traced back at least to July 2025.
The 23 solved cases cover Agia Paraskevi, Palaio Faliro, Chalandri, Nea Ionia, Galatsi, Athens, Kallithea, Zografou, Petralona and Pangrati, with Spata, Kallithea and Neo Faliro named as areas of operation. Items seized include jewellery, watches, designer bags, mobile phones, cameras, laptops, tablets, dinner services, icons, games consoles, burglary tools and keys, along with around 1,300 euros from money boxes. An estimated 76,000 euros is thought to have been sent abroad through money transfer companies. The charges include forming a criminal organisation, aggravated theft, drugs offences and money laundering.
The case comes a few days after the attempted break-in at Mesovarda, where the intruders cut through wire fencing and forced the door with a crowbar — for the second time at the same house. No official link has been made between the two cases, and Spata does not appear in the list of 23 solved incidents even though it is named among the areas of operation. In practice that means the investigation is continuing, and that incidents which were never reported stay outside the count.
What the resident can do: look at your front door and your lock. Marks in marker pen or chalk, stickers, pieces of paper or tape on the frame and on the lock cylinder are not accidental and are not a children's game. If you find something, photograph it before you clean it off. Any suspicious vehicle circling the neighbourhood repeatedly in the evening should be reported to 100. The Spata–Artemida Police Station is at the junction of Vasileos Pavlou and Spyrou Markou in Spata. And a practical note for anyone going away for a long weekend: the gang worked precisely on the holidays.
Source: Hellenic Police, statement 18/09/2026.
