Kathimerini Greece Newsroom
An undercover police operation in northern Peloponnese has exposed an antiquities smuggling ring with a plot straight out of a crime thriller, and at the center of it all, the abbot of the famed Mega Spilaio Monastery.
Authorities said six people were arrested after attempting to sell 14 Byzantine icons and two 18th-century Gospels for €200,000. Among those detained were the abbot himself and his assistant, who were caught arriving at the monastery carrying the priceless treasures.
Police say the sting began three months ago after intelligence reached the internal affairs unit about illicit dealings in religious relics. An officer went undercover, posing as both a seller and buyer of antiquities, and managed to infiltrate the group. Meetings were arranged in restaurants, on quiet country roads, and even inside the monastery walls before the final handover attempt on Sunday afternoon.
Also arrested was a man from Nemea believed to be the mastermind of the operation, and a pawnshop owner accused of acting as a middleman by approaching buyers and other smugglers.
The arrests have sent shockwaves through the local community. Mega Spilaio Monastery, formally known as the Monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin, is one of Greece’s most storied religious sites, its roots tracing back centuries. The local Metropolis wasted no time announcing the abbot’s removal from his post following his arrest.
According to Greek media reports, at least one of the icons seized may have been stolen. All six suspects are expected to testify before an investigating magistrate in the coming days.
The case underscores not only the lucrative black market for religious and cultural treasures in Greece but also the vulnerability of sacred sites that for generations have been entrusted with guarding them.
For Cyprus readers, the story may hit a familiar nerve: looted icons and relics remain one of the island’s deepest wounds since the Turkish invasion of 1974. This latest case in Greece shows that the fight to protect heritage from profiteers is far from over.
