The 49-year-old, then main defendant, leaves the investigative mnagistrate’s office in Thessaloniki, in June 2025. [Intime News]
New details are emerging about a May 2025 armed attack by three Turkish nationals against an officer of Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP) in Thermi near Thessaloniki, as the case heads to trial Tuesday.
According to court documents, the suspects had been under surveillance as part of a probe into violent disputes involving what is described as the “Turkish mafia,” whose members have taken refuge in Greece in recent years.
The incident unfolded at 3.40 p.m. on May 27, when a silver Toyota Land Cruiser with French plates stopped at a gas station. One suspect spotted a surveillance vehicle about 70 to 80 meters away, approached and fired directly, while a second followed armed.
The intelligence officer accelerated, minimizing exposure as bullets struck the vehicle. Investigators later found multiple bullet holes and fragments. Authorities said the officer’s call to emergency services followed protocol.
Evidence including fingerprints, surveillance video and witness accounts helped reconstruct the suspects’ movements.
Police traced one suspect to a rural shack in Rodopi, where he led officers to the abandoned vehicle. The weapon was not recovered. The other two suspects fled to Bulgaria but were later returned under European arrest warrants.
In testimony, the main defendant said he believed he was surrounded and fired “to keep him back, not to kill.” He claimed he thought they were Turkish intelligence agents.
The second defendant denied carrying a weapon, saying fear prompted him to exit the vehicle.
All three face charges including attempted homicide, illegal weapons possession and use, and will be tried before a mixed jury court in Thessaloniki.
The case also exposed tensions between intelligence and police, with reports of limited information sharing and prompting broader arrests of Turkish suspects across Greece in the aftermath of the shooting.