271 kilograms of cocaine were seized in a specialized operation by the Greek authorities. A luxury car, probably owned by a Bulgarian company, was also confiscated during the operation. It was used by the 40-year-old owner of a transport company, a Greek citizen, who assisted in the distribution of the drug, Nova TV reported.
The drug was found at the bottom of a container that arrived in the country on the cargo ship LARS. The packages were covered with lead plates, which made it significantly more difficult to detect them using a scanner. Handwritten notes containing data such as days, times and various travel destinations were also found in the same cache.
The officers of the local anti-narcotics department had information that leading members of a cocaine cartel based in Ecuador were suppliers of large quantities of drugs and responsible for financing and obtaining the drugs for further trafficking.
A 47-year-old Bulgarian citizen was responsible for communication and coordinated the operational team to obtain the substance from the cache. Another man, aged 32, delivered the drugs to other members of the organisation, while the 40-year-old owner of a transport company in Aspropyrgos provided premises and security measures to facilitate the movement of the containers.
Local law enforcement was informed by the UK's National Crime Agency that the drugs were to be transported by ship to the port of Thessaloniki in northern Greece.
Following an on-site inspection on 6 August, it was found that the container was carrying 271 kilograms of cocaine, concealed in boxes of bananas. The drugs were divided into 230 packages, in a special niche in the floor. The packages were carefully positioned and were not detected during the initial X-ray scan.
The investigation revealed that the 32-year-old defendant had purchased ten suitcases a few weeks ago.
The seized cocaine has an estimated value of over 5.5 million euros.
One of the two Greek citizens was arrested in 2018 for drug trafficking, while the other has been repeatedly charged with traffic violations and minor bodily harm. There is no information about the criminal record of our compatriot so far. The three men were arrested earlier this week and will be brought to trial.
The police are searching for more individuals who are alleged to be part of the drug distribution group.