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Greece Arrests Member of Smuggling Gang That Raked in $21 Billion

by Reuters

   ATHENS --

   Greek authorities have arrested a senior member of an international
   gang that smuggled Latin American fuel products for illegal sale around
   the world, raking in an estimated profit of more than $21 billion,
   police said on Saturday.

   The gang member, an Italian national for whom Interpol had issued an
   arrest warrant, was found in a southern Athens suburb on Friday, a
   police official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

   The warrant had ordered the man's arrest and his extradition to
   Venezuela to be tried for crimes that include the illegal transport and
   trade of resources of strategic importance, the official said.

   The gang stole the fuel products, which were loaded onto its oil
   tankers from ports in Latin America, and switched off tracking
   transponders to deceive shipping brokers, police said in a statement.

   Police did not disclose the suspect's name.

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