They are measuring the quantity of cocaine seized from the Greek “baron” – Τhe five arrested are being brought before the prosecutor

On Tuesday morning (16/12), five of the ten people arrested in the criminal organization involved in trafficking cocaine from Latin America to Europe were transferred to the Prosecutor of Piraeus. The organization was dismantled yesterday, Monday (15/12), following a joint operation by the Narcotics Division of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

It is recalled that yesterday a vessel of Greek interests was located, which had departed from Nea Michaniona, Thessaloniki. The vessel had traveled to Latin America and, after loading large quantities of cocaine, was returning to Europe, with the Greek authorities still not knowing exactly where it intended to unload. The ship was located by the French Navy.

On board the vessel was a crew of five people (four Greeks and one Bulgarian), who were arrested. In Greece, following a police operation, five more individuals were arrested in Katerini, Thebes, and Athens. Among those arrested is the “Greek Escobar,” a well-known figure to the authorities, who is considered the “mastermind” of the criminal organization and the owner of the vessel.

It is noted that the fishing boat has now docked at the port of the island of Martinique, where the authorities are continuing to measure the quantity of narcotics.

According to information, the authorities have already located more than four tons of cocaine.

The “Life and Times” of the “Greek Escobar”

The “Greek Escobar,” as the arrested “mastermind” of the criminal organization dismantled by the Narcotics Division became known, was a very old acquaintance of the authorities. Even before his major arrest in 2004 in Stuttgart, following the detection of the vessel Africa 1 and 5.5 tons of cocaine from Latin America to Europe, this individual had drawn the attention of the authorities many times. However, he always managed to slip away from his pursuers, taking care not to leave traces behind.

From the late 1980s through 2000, Greek authorities repeatedly received information about his activities from U.S. law enforcement agencies, including alleged involvement in arms transfers to Nicaragua’s Sandinistas, paid for with quantities of cocaine. When he later went independent, he took over cocaine shipments to Europe, transporting drugs to Antwerp from Latin America via Senegal.

Even a case involving a shipload in Litochoro in 2002 caught the attention of the DEA, but once again no incriminating evidence could be found against him at the time—until two years later, when he finally fell into the hands of the authorities. Starting out with cigarette smuggling, he built a capable fleet of fishing vessels and began large cocaine shipments, amassing great wealth.

At the same time, he set up a “laundering operation” to launder the millions he earned from drug trafficking, through charities, the purchase of two football teams in Pieria, and even through supposedly winning betting slips from games of chance, collaborating with agencies across the country, which he bought at prices even double their profits.

He was released from prison about 10 years ago, returned a few months later by decision of the Supreme Court, and was released again about a year ago. Since then, he had once more come under the scrutiny of the authorities, who considered it a given that he would return to his old, lucrative activities, exploiting the network he had built over the years in Latin America and in Northern and Central Europe.