ATHENS (Reuters) -Greek police have arrested at least 12 people during an operation to break up two gangs whose members they said were sports fans involved in drug trafficking, beatings, robberies and arson, they said on Monday.

The large-scale operation was still in progress, police said in a statement. The gangs, who possessed explosives, were active in the wider Athens area and involved in clashes with rival soccer supporters, they added.

Since the 2023 death of a policeman in clashes with hooligans in Athens, police have launched a major crackdown on criminality and violence surrounding sports.

(Reporting by Yannis Souliotis, writing by Renee Maltezou, editing by Alexandra Hudson)