Greek Police (ELAS) managed one of the most important blows against the cocaine cartels from Latin America after the arrest of nine people who had received 100 kilos of drugs from a container at the port of Thessaloniki.

The operation was carried out through a combined effort between police officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Special Police Crime Prevention and Suppression Units (OPKE).

The operation took place in Diavata when the police blocked two cars in which seven people were carrying a large amount of cocaine.

Police enforcement units moved in after receiving intelligence that a container containing a large quantity of drugs had been delivered to the port of Thessaloniki, which would be transported in a “bag” to the city.

As it turned out, the seven arrested – the information refers to well-known people in the society of Thessaloniki – had used rented cars to transport the cocaine. In a search carried out in houses, after the arrests of the nine – including a leading member of the organisation – 100,000 euros were also found and confiscated.

The container with the cocaine had a shipping label from a Latin American country, confirming once again that the cartels have “eyeballed” the ports of Athens and Thessaloniki in order to use them as a reception base for drugs they want to traffic to European countries.