Police have found four members of an international criminal organization involved in a case of transporting a large amount of cocaine by container from Latin America to our country.

According to the Hellenic Police, these are four foreigners, aged 32, 34, 36, and 44 years old, while the case file that was formed includes additional unidentified persons, members of the multinational circuit.

Cooperation with the D.E.A. Office of the U.S. Embassy preceded. Athens, as well as the Narcotics Suppression Department of the Sub-Directorate for the Fight against Organized Crime of Northern Greece, in the context of which the activity of an international circuit importing large quantities of cocaine from Latin America to European countries, including our country, was demonstrated.

The subsequent investigation, verification, and cross-checking of data, profiling of the persons involve,d and the development of special interrogation techniques on an operational level revealed the structure of the criminal organisation, its international character, and the criminal activity of its members.

In particular, as it turned out, at least from the beginning of November 2024, the defendants had formed and joined a criminal organization of an international character, which was active in the trafficking of significant quantities of drugs (cocaine) from Latin America to the European market, to make illegal profits.

To achieve their goal, the members of the criminal organisation used the sea route, concealing the cocaine loads in the refrigerated container system, which carried legal goods.

Further, it was found that the arrestees operated with a hierarchical structure and distinct roles as follows:

– The 32 year old, had undertaken the contacts for finding and recruiting collaborators in Greece for the receipt of the drugs in Thessaloniki and for their further trafficking; and
– 34, 36 ,and 44 years old were responsible for the further trafficking of the drugs to countries in Europe, including our country.

According to a police statement, “in the morning hours of 13/12/2024, the members of the organization imported for trafficking in the Greek territory a quantity of cocaine, total gross weight of 45 kilograms and 958 grams, which they had hidden inside a refrigerated container mechanism with legal merchandise bananas.

A police operation followed, during which the 32-year-old man was arrested at noon on Saturday (14/12/2024) at Thessaloniki Airport in his attempt to leave the country, while the others were arrested at noon on Sunday, 15 December 2024, in an area of Thessaloniki, during the delivery of drugs.

In total, from the searches carried out in the area of the Port of Thessaloniki and in a home, the following were found and seized:

cocaine weighing 45 kilograms and 993 grams,
1,450 euros and 658 dollars,
4 mobile phone devices and
tracking and tracing devices (GPS) and a solar panel power bank
The arrested persons were taken to the relevant prosecuting authority, while the investigation in cooperation with counterpart authorities of other countries continues.”