Who are the suspects arrested for Lalas murder

They were arrested following a coordinated, surprise police operation carried out by the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime in Thessaloniki and Kavala, where they had sought refuge. The four alleged perpetrators of the mafia-style execution of Giannis Lalas on November 1 in Livadi Arachovas were located there.

Authorities also recovered video footage that captured their escape, which helped investigators trace their movements and identify them.

Officers from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, with assistance from colleagues in Northern Greece, conducted simultaneous raids in Thessaloniki and Kavala, locating and arresting the four suspects in the residences where they had been hiding. House searches also followed in properties they maintained in central Athens and in Chalandri.

In total, from the searches carried out in their homes in Thessaloniki, Kavala, and Athens, police found and seized eight weapons, seven 9mm pistols and one revolver, all of which were sent to forensic laboratories for ballistic analysis.

Involvement in the Kyparissis kidnapping and the attempted murder of a football fan

According to information, among the four Greek suspects – two of whom are of origin from a former Soviet republic – two have prior criminal records. One had taken part in the 2022 kidnapping of auto-parts businessman Giorgos Kyparissis outside his home in Drafi. He also had an extensive background involving attempted homicides and robberies, while the other had been his accomplice in a recent attempted murder of a 34-year-old Olympiacos fan in Pagkrati last September.

The two younger individuals had never been involved with the authorities until now.

The investigation into the mastermind who ordered the execution remains open, as authorities aim to fully solve the case. The victim, apart from having previously been accused — and acquitted — along with his brother for the murders of journalist Giorgos Karaivaz and a boxer in Galatsi, is believed in recent months to have allied himself with the Russian-speaking criminal organisation led by “Endik”, which has been locked in a “war” with members of the so-called “Greek Mafia” over cigarette smuggling. At the same time, he had acquired petrol stations and become involved in fuel smuggling.

The Mafia “war”

As a direct associate of the Russian-speaking mafia while serving time in prison, he clashed with rival groups and even assaulted a leading member of the “Greek Mafia”, also incarcerated, acting on Endik’s orders. In doing so, he not only chose a “side” but also created personal vendettas with the “Greek Mafia”.

Authorities do not rule out his involvement in several contract killings against rivals.

Last May, there was an assassination attempt against him when gunmen chased him outside one of his petrol stations in Ano Liosia. He survived thanks to his armoured Mercedes despite the hail of bullets.

The assassins later set up an ambush outside his chalet, waiting for the opportunity to strike once he stepped out onto the balcony. They knew he did not have bodyguards with him. A phone call he received prompted him to go outside. The moment they saw him, they opened fire, riddling him with bullets using a Kalashnikov and a 9mm pistol.

The Nissan SUV they used had been stolen from Ilioupoli; after the murder, they abandoned it just five minutes from the scene and set it on fire to destroy any evidence. The automatic weapon and two pistols were also found burned inside the vehicle’s charred remains.