ATHENS, Greece — On Wednesday, Greek law enforcement officials announced the successful confiscation of explosives and firearms during a search operation in an apartment building storage area in Athens.

This search follows previous raids conducted two weeks earlier, wherein authorities targeted five locations across Athens, uncovering substantial amounts of explosives and firearms in a concerted effort to dismantle what they classified as a prominent criminal network responsible for the storage and distribution of weapons.

Whether the two incidents are interconnected remains uncertain at this stage.

Details released by the police indicate that the recent search unveiled nearly 50 kilograms (approximately 110 pounds) of various explosives, including ammonium nitrate, TNT, and ammonium dynamite. Additionally, they seized 25 detonators, gunpowder, a slow-burning fuse, a submachine gun, six other firearms, a counterfeit license plate, and a laptop. The investigation is being conducted by the Special Violent Crimes Unit of the police.

Greece has experienced periodic incidents of small bombings and targeted killings linked to organized crime and racketeering groups. The nation also faces a longstanding challenge with far-left extremism, which has manifested in the actions of several small urban factions.

Earlier in November, a significant event occurred when police apprehended multiple individuals following an explosion in a third-floor apartment in central Athens. This blast resulted in the death of a man presumed to be assembling an improvised explosive device, causing serious injuries to a woman present in the apartment. At that time, Greece’s Minister for Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrisochoidis, commented on the incident, suggesting it was connected to individuals aiming to become the next generation of domestic terrorists within Greece.

Historically, major extremist factions responsible for a series of assassinations from the mid-1970s through the early 2000s have been dismantled, with many members incarcerated. This has given way to smaller, less organized groups that have primarily engaged in bomb attacks targeting symbols of governmental authority and wealth, although these groups have largely been inactive in recent years.