Greek Police Arrest Russian Fugitive 'Vor V Zakone' Mafia Boss

UNSPLASH/Pierre ILLUSTRATION Herman

JAKARTA - Greece has arrested a suspect in a mafia boss with the title vor v zakone" - wanted by Russia based on Interpol's red notice.

Europe has stepped up its resistance to Russian-language organized crime groups since the assassination of a clan leader in 2013 in Moscow that sparked a power struggle among the crime network.

Europol, the European Union's police liaison agency, said the "vory v zakone" network was a strict-structured criminal organization from the underground world of the Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991.

Reported by Reuters on Wednesday, June 26, Greek police arrested a 51-year-old Georgian, whose name has not been released after receiving information he plans to travel to Athens.

Red notice was issued by Interpol against the Georgian man at Russian request. He was arrested at a restaurant in central Athens where he attended dinner with 13 other men.

A 58-year-old man was also arrested for possession of a gun. Meanwhile, a third man was arrested for not having a residence permit and refused to undergo an identity check.