Armed gang disguised as police frees convict at Serres Hospital in Greece

The hospital ambush

Shortly after 23:00 on Friday, 11 September 2026, an armed extraction occurred outside the General Hospital of Serres in northern Greece. A convicted felon who had been transferred from the Nigrita correctional facility under guard was freed during an ambush that unfolded in a matter of seconds. The sequence of events began late on Friday night when the prisoner informed prison authorities that he felt unwell, prompting the administration to arrange an urgent transfer for medical examinations. As the transport vehicle arrived and came to a halt directly in front of the hospital entrance, a waiting group of armed accomplices intercepted the escort before the prisoner could be moved inside the building.

Tactical disguise and seizure of weapons

The four attackers carried out the extraction using tactical disguises designed to mimic elite law enforcement personnel. The assailants wore hoods and uniforms bearing the official insignia of the Hellenic Police Special Crime Suppression Operations Unit, known as OPKE. Armed with Kalashnikov automatic rifles and machine guns, the masked men ambushed the transfer convoy as soon as the vehicle parked. The perpetrators confronted the escorting officers at gunpoint, disarmed them, and confiscated their service weapons. With the escort neutralized, the four gunmen took the prisoner into an awaiting passenger car and drove away from the hospital grounds in an unknown direction, leaving the disarmed personnel at the scene.

Convict background and planning

The escaped convict is an Albanian national, reported in separate accounts as either 40 or 41 years old, who was serving a prison sentence for homicide and narcotics trafficking. According to reports from Greek state broadcaster ERT, the man has a record of violent criminal activity, including a previous incident where he opened fire in broad daylight in Thessaloniki. The timing of the ambush indicated detailed advance coordination between the convict and the armed group outside the prison system. The accomplices were already positioned and waiting in the hospital parking area before the transfer vehicle arrived from Nigrita, acting immediately upon the prisoner's sudden request for medical attention.

Regional manhunt and recovered vehicle

In response to the escape, the Hellenic Police declared an emergency alert and initiated a large-scale manhunt across Central Macedonia and surrounding districts. Law enforcement teams began combing the area, deploying patrols and setting up static checkpoints along major roadways and transport corridors to prevent the group from leaving the region. During the search, investigators discovered an abandoned passenger car fitted with forged license plates, which police believe the perpetrators used during their initial flight from the hospital. The search for the fugitive and the four armed accomplices remains active as police analyze evidence gathered from the vehicle and the hospital perimeter.