International cooperation sparked by a wave of gangland killings in Greece has helped dismantle a criminal network that included Romanians accused of more than 60 crimes in Europe over the past decade, Greek police said on Friday, AFP reported. on News.ro.

More than 39 people, mostly from Serbia and Montenegro, as well as Albania and Romania, have been identified on suspicion of involvement in the criminal organization, according to court documents, and 17 of them are already in prisons in Serbia, Montenegro and Turkey.

The Kotor Clan, which was founded in 2010 in Montenegro and is involved in drug trafficking around the world, split into two rival groups, Kavac and Shkalari, in 2014 following a dispute over a failed drug-trafficking operation in Spain.

“The war between the two gangs has resulted in at least 60 murders across Europe,” said Athens police chief Photios Duitsis.

Four participants from Serbia and Montenegro arrived in Greece in 2019 in search of a hiding place. According to Greek police, a year later they were killed by members of a rival group.

When Greece turned to Serbia for help, European law enforcement agency Europol discovered that gang members were using the app to send encrypted messages that were automatically deleted.

Europol and the police of France, the Netherlands and Belgium organized an operation to gain access to the application and found evidence related to crimes in Greece.

Duitsis praised the cooperation and exchange of information between European police authorities, praising Serbia for its substantial assistance.