A cross-border police crackdown in Greece, Spain and Bulgaria has broken a Turkish-led criminal network that allegedly trafficked firearms from the Western Balkans and Turkey into the European Union in exchange for cannabis from Spain much of which ended up in Greece, officials said Monday.
The Europol police agency said the low-cost but fully functional hybrid weapons, that combine original and handmade parts, are particularly difficult to trace and were used as a bargaining tool in drug deals in the EU.
“This steady flow of weapons significantly increased the firepower of organised crime groups and contributed to violence across Europe,” a Europol statement said.
Greece’s police said in a statement that Greek officers temporarily detained six people – five Turkish nationals and a Greek woman – in Thessaloniki as part of the joint operation and searched four locations.
According to Europol, the main suspect who was arrested in Sofia, Bulgaria, is a Turkish national holding a Greek residence permit. He is believed to have coordinated the sourcing and transport of firearms into Spain, while overseeing the purchase and onward distribution of drugs to countries including Greece and Bulgaria.
A total 21 people were arrested – 18 in Spain and three in Bulgaria – on March 23, while police seized 587 kilograms of marijuana and 76 of hashish, with an estimated illicit market value of €4.4 million. Officers also confiscated seven semi-automatic pistols, one military-grade weapon, silencers and sound suppressors.
Europol said the investigation started in March 2025 after Spanish police noticed an influx of weapons from Turkey to criminal groups in Catalonia, “against a backdrop of rising armed violence.”
It said investigators established that the weapons were smuggled into the EU in vehicles and lorries with hidden compartments and sent to Spain. In the other direction, it said the network is estimated to have had the capacity to transport up to 1.5 tons of marijuana per month from Catalonia to Greece and Turkey where its value increased substantially.
Turkish organized crime groups have become increasingly active in Greece in recent years.