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The
mountainous region of Zoniana
A recent shootout
between police and suspected drug gang members in the mountain village of
Zoniana, near Anoghia, which drew international attention, has sparked new
outrage by local governments and citizens over the continued problem of
illegal weapons. Apparently, gun ownership remains widespread on Crete
despite several attempted police crackdowns and public awareness campaigns
spearheaded by prominent Cretans, including Miki Theodoraki, the
Oscar-winning composer of the score for "Zorba the Greek."
Crete has one of the
highest gun ownership rates in Greece, a vestige of Ottoman Turkish rule
when Cretans stocked up on guns for protection.
Now, illegal gun
ownership is silently accepted as part of traditional Cretan culture, with
the firing of weapons being an almost integral part of weddings and
baptisms, not only in the more remote local villages, but also in heavily
populated and tourist-friendly areas such as Gouves and Hersonissos.
However, the root of
the problem, according to police, is not the social aspects, but the outlaws
and criminals who have rendered parts of the island practically off-limits
to law enforcement.
Police said the
latest incident involved a convoy of jeeps carrying about 40 officers which
was ambushed outside Zoniana by up to 20 suspected drug gang members armed
with assault rifles.
The policemen,
accompanied by a prosecutor, had been planning to search the home of a local
drug suspect.
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When the incident
drew world attention through an article in the International Herald Tribune,
and dozens of journalists descended upon the scene, Prime Minister Costas
Karamanlis said: “We will no longer tolerate behaviour outside the law. We
will be tough and make no distinction.”
Drug gangs at Zoniana,
in the mountains of central Crete 30 kilometres (18 miles) east of Iraklion,
frequently shoot at police helicopters or cars patrolling their area.
In June 2006, 25
officers looking for a marijuana plantation, which had been spotted by
helicopter, came under fire. Nobody was injured then and there were no
arrests, despite a large-scale operation by special police forces.
Earlier this year, a
helicopter carrying guests to a baptism ceremony on a mountaintop chapel
made a forced landing after unknown gunmen mistook it for a police spotter
aircraft and opened fire. Again, there were no arrests.
However, probably due
to the international exposure of these recent incidents and the prime
minister's concern, police returned to Zoniana in greater force.
They found hundreds
of guns, including many assault rifles, and remnants of makeshift drug
processing labs, as well as several cannabis plantations, one of them near
the village cemetery.
At last report,
police had made 14 arrests, and said they expected more.
Meanwhile, following
these disclosures by police, Cretan banks reported a record-breaking day of
cash withdrawals from bank accounts, as apparently many people frantically
sought to hide large amounts of money.
At the same time, it
was reported that many local citizens, even those not involved in the drug
trade, were hiding illegal handguns and assault riffles, afraid they would
be caught in the backwash of police activities, and expected harsher
enforcement of gun laws.
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