Greek police charge two relatives over Attica jewellery shop break-ins and car thefts

Arrests and charges

Hellenic Police arrested two men under warrants issued by the competent investigating judge, according to reports published on 12 November 2026. The men are related and are charged with forming a criminal gang and with aggravated theft, committed as co-perpetrators and as a continuing offence. The case was brought by the Sub-directorate for Prosecution of Crimes against Life and Property within the Directorate for Combating Organised Crime. One outlet gives their ages as 32 and 27. After the arrests they were taken to the prosecutor responsible for sentence enforcement. Both men are accused, not convicted, and the reports describe no court ruling so far.

How the gang operated

According to the police, the pair scouted jewellery shops in the early morning and watched the premises to judge their security measures and what they held. They covered their faces, wore gloves and forced protective shutters and main doors with heavy tools before taking jewellery. Before each burglary they took cars from nearby areas, then abandoned them afterwards so they could not be traced. Investigators said the equipment, the division of roles and the method pointed to experience and professionalism. The two had no legal income, were described as unemployed, and had been arrested repeatedly before for similar offences while already subject to restrictive conditions.

The Piraeus attempt

Police describe a sequence on the early morning of 3 August 2026. The pair stole a car in West Attica and abandoned it nearby after crashing into a parked car. They then took a second vehicle from an adjacent area and drove to a jewellery shop in Piraeus. There they tried to break the central door with a sledgehammer, but passers-by noticed them and they left in the same car, which they later abandoned elsewhere in West Attica. The shop was not entered.

Video and witness accounts

Footage obtained by in.gr shows the men trying to break into the Piraeus shop while traffic and pedestrians continue past. Newsit.gr, which also obtained footage, puts the attempt at 6.25 am after correcting for a camera clock that ran an hour behind, and says a driver passing close by appeared puzzled at the scene. Newsit.gr reports that one of the men made a movement as if reaching for a gun inside his jacket. NEWS 24/7 reports that one of the men made a gesture suggesting he had a weapon to stop neighbours shouting at them.