Arms, narcotics and illegal oil are smuggled by Greek criminal organizations, often in collaboration with Albanian or Russian mafia groups, from local seaports to important destination centers such as the docks of Naples or Antwerp.
Regional family-based crime clans operate on the island of Crete and are involved in the cultivation and trafficking of marijuana on both a domestic and international level.
[citation needed] The most senior non-Italian gangster in the Outfit was Gus Alex, whose family emigrated to Chicago from the village of Alpochori in Achaea.
The Chicago Outfit, unlike New York City's Five Families, has a long standing tradition, dating back to Al Capone, of allowing non-Italian associates into positions of real importance and power.
Gus Alex was the highest ranking non-Italian wiseguy, as he reportedly formed a three-man ruling panel in the late sixties and early seventies.
[citation needed] The three-man ruling panel, consisting of a Greek and two Italians, ran the Chicago Outfit for an unknown period of time.
Thevis's use of unnecessary violence against both real and imagined enemies and competitors was so extreme that he was compared to the character of Tony Montana from the 1983 movie Scarface.
Gambling has always been a staple of Greek organised crime, as well as horse racing, cards, casinos and black market dealings.
It is safe to assume that Greek organised crime is difficult to disintegrate, since these groups form, break up and reform when it suits their interests.
[citation needed] In addition to Cyprus itself, Greek Cypriot crime families are known to operate in the United Kingdom and South Africa.