Alket Rizai ‘disappears’: how the clash unfolded on the Greek beach involving the ‘escape artist’

Alket Rizai, the Albanian known as a former associate of wanted Greek criminal Vasilis Paleokostas and as the man who twice escaped prison by helicopter, was involved in a shooting incident at a beach bar in Anavyssos, near Athens, in the early hours of the morning.

Analysis of security footage, which police were only able to review late in the afternoon, confirmed that one of the key individuals involved in the incident was Rizai himself, who was outside his cell on leave from Domokos prison.

The timeline of the incident began at around 5:15 a.m., when police received a report of gunfire at the scene. When officers arrived, they found no one — only two shell casings and bloodstains.

Later, authorities were notified by the Kalivia health center that two injured people had arrived seeking medical help: a 20-year-old Greek man with a wound from glass fragments in his ankle, and a 41-year-old Pakistani man with a gunshot wound to the calf. Both turned out to be employees of the business who, along with the owner, gave differing versions of the incident.

According to investigators, the conflict began when the venue’s owner asked for the music to be turned down after customers began leaving. At that moment, Alket Rizai went out to the parking lot and turned the music up loud in his vehicle. The owner went outside to warn him, fearing police intervention over the noise.

The argument degenerated into a brawl, with other staff members also getting involved. During the clash, Rizai is suspected of pulling out a gun and firing into the air, after which an Afghan national, suspected of being part of the venue’s security and also wanted, opened fire as well. The gunfire and ricocheting bullets left two of the venue’s employees injured.

After the incident, Alket Rizai and his two friends sped away by car, while the business owner was arrested for giving false testimony.

The incident has set Greek authorities in motion, as this morning was Rizai’s deadline to return to Domokos prison — otherwise he will be officially declared a fugitive.