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Greek police said Wednesday that a raid on Athens’ sprawling university campus complex had arrested 32 people suspected of belonging to gangs that carried out armed robberies, drug trafficking and other crimes.
The suspect, not a student, used an old dormitory room on the campus of the National Technical University of Athens to hide weapons, drugs and money, officials said.
“They used the campus as a staging ground to carry out robberies and drug trafficking,” said Dimitris Davalos, head of the Greater Athens Police Crime Department.
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One of the suspects was hospitalized with a gunshot wound after attacking an arresting officer, police said.
Police said they seized weapons including firearms, knives and extendable batons, along with cocaine, marijuana and drug processing equipment.
The raid involving members of the police’s special forces and counter-terrorism unit took place on Tuesday amid a political debate over policing at a Greek university.
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For decades, police were legally barred from entering campus grounds without permission from academic authorities. The restrictions were basically abolished in recent years, but plans to set up a campus police force have faced strong resistance from left-wing opposition parties and many student groups.