Some twenty policemen gathered on Friday morning outside a court in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, to express sympathy and solidarity for two colleagues arrested for allegedly offering protection to a network of drug dealers.
The solidarity protesters cheered and welcomed the defendants as …heroes when the two were taken to court in handcuffs by other policemen.
The guards were exposed to ironic comments of protesters who where shouting “Congratulations, you captured the best police officers.”
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According to media reports, the two policemen are expected to reject any accusations and will argue that the contacts they kept with the drug dealers were in the context of smashing the illegal ring.
Nine of the 35 suspects implicated in the massive drug dealing racket faced an investigating magistrate on Friday. The nine defendants included two Albanian nationals believed to be the leaders of the racket as well as two police officers — the head of the force’s anti-drugs squad in Volos and a senior officer from the Thessaloniki police’s illegal immigration department.
A third policeman — from the security police in Agrinio — was remanded in custody on Thursday after testifying in connection with the ring in whose activities he has also been implicated. Also some of his colleagues gathered outside the court on Thursday to express their solidarity.
