Fourteen suspects held in custody, in connection with the latest case of 986 kilos and 600 grams of heroin that police found in a warehouse in Koropi on Saturday, will testify in three groups on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, it was announced on Monday.

The latest quantity of heroin is linked with over a tonne (1,133 kg) of heroin found in two batches, one in a warehouse in Koropi and another in a mansion in the Athens suburb of Filothei on June 12. Nine people are already in custody, including a 40-year-old shipowner.

In both cases, the seized heroin (2,120 kg in total) was smuggled into Greece on board the “NOOR ONE” Togo-flagged tanker ship.

On Tuesday, some of the ship’s 10 crew members, all Indian nationals, will testify. A 32-year-old Greek and a 47-year-old Iranian national, who allegedly played a key role in the case, will testify on Wednesday, while a 53-year-old local woman, who is allegedly the representative of the shipowner company, and the rest of the crew members will testify on Thursday.

All are facing criminal organization charges, drug possession and trafficking. A separate case file concerns illegal fuel trade charges filed against certain of the defendants after the discovery on board the tanker of 18 tonnes of fuel that lacked documents.

A total of 9 people – 5 Turkish nationals, an Albanian and 3 Greeks, including a 40-year-old shipowner – are already in custody in connection with the tonne-plus of heroin that was discovered on June 12.

The 47-year-old Iranian has allegedly testified that the tanker picked up the heroin while sailing on international waters between Pakistan and Oman and that he undertook to escort and guard the drugs for the sum of 50 million rial (Iranian currency).

Speaking on a private television station earlier on Monday, Shipping & Aegean Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said that the investigation is now focusing on the arrest of more people involved in the case both in Greece and abroad, noting that a large part of the heroin was destined for the rest of Europe. He added that the Greek authorities are in cooperation with international authorities to locate the rest of the ring members.