Police detained a 22-year-old Syrian immigrant carrying ten Turkish-made Zoraki handguns in the Evros area near the Greek border with Turkey.
The arrest occurred in the village of Gemisti, just minutes away from the border with Turkey, on Tuesday. The illegal immigrant was also discovered with 8,000 ecstasy tablets, according to prosecutors.
The discovery was the result of an undercover investigation in which a Greek police officer posed as a purchaser of EUR 14,000 of weapons and drugs.
The Hellenic Police (ELAS) report that the capture has been only one of several Turkish weapons in the last few weeks, including an action involving the European Police Force Europol in November, published on Thursday in the newspaper I Kathimerini.
After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the boarders in February before Wuhan virus outbreak, the Evros area saw thousands of illegal migrants attempting to cross the boarder.
Although the number of migrants attempting to enter Greece illegally has decreased dramatically since the beginning of the pandemic, the area still sees indications of alleged crossings, with Greek media reporting that as recently as September, the Turkish authorities helped migrants cross the border.
Police in Evros opened an investigation into 15 fires that occurred in just 48 hours during the same month, after many migrants were detained on the island of Lesbos on charges of burning down the infamous Moria migrant camp.
In October, CNN Greece reported that five men carrying assault weapons in the border region near Gemsti had been spotted by border officials and suggested that they were Turkish soldiers in civilian clothes who may have been encouraging illegal crossings.
UK & Europe Correspondent