Greek police bust illegal refrigerant ring
16th December 2025
GREECE: Authorities in Greece claim to have dismantled a criminal organisation responsible for illegally importing and trafficking large quantities of refrigerant from Albania.
The co-ordinated police operation in Kastoria resulted in four arrests and the seizure of 1,335.2kg of refrigerant in 120 cylinders. The police put the commercial value at approximately €58,000.
The authorities have not revealed which refrigerants were involved, but the shipment was said to be in breach of the European F-gas regulations and avoided the payment of the corresponding customs and tax charges.
On of those identified was a reported as a “34-year-old foreigner”, described as a leading member of the criminal organisation, who was said to have been involved in two previous offences in Florina, Western Macedonia, in May. These actions resulted in the seizure of 401 cylinders of illegal refrigerant, weighing over 4.5 tonnes.
Related stories:
Greek authorities intercept more illegal refrigerant – 26 May 2024
GREECE: Authorities in Florina, north-western Macedonia, have again been active in the interception of illegal refrigerants, arresting four people involved in an illegal shipment last week. Read more…
Albanian arrested for refrigerant smuggling – 28 April 2024
GREECE: An Albanian van driver has been arrested in Greece for illegally transporting more than three tonnes of HFC refrigerant. Read more…
Customs seize 13.5t of refrigerant in illegal cylinders – 12 July 2023
NORTH MACEDONIA: The customs authority in North Macedonia says it has seized a shipment of over 13.5 tonnes of HFC refrigerant in illegal disposable cylinders coming in from Greece. Read more…
