The criminal past of the man arrested as the owner of the vessel that was found transporting a large quantity of cocaine from Latin America to Europe, as part of an international investigation into the activities of a criminal organization, is rich and “adventurous.”

Five people have been arrested in connection with the case, while another five are expected to be arrested. More specifically, the first group was arrested in Greece, while the latter—who were on board the vessel—are currently being held and are to be formally arrested.

Undoubtedly, the figure who stands out among the accused is the alleged owner of the drug-running vessel, who in the past had been given the nickname “Greek Escobar.” This is because he had been arrested as the “mastermind” of the largest cocaine trafficking ring that has ever operated in the country.

It was in the summer of 2004 when news broke that a ship named Africa 1 had been located by Spanish authorities with 5.4 tons of cocaine in its holds, the value of which today exceeds €500,000,000.

The ship departed from Piraeus on May 15, 2004, with Turkey listed as its declared destination. However, law enforcement authorities in Greece as well as other European countries, who had been closely monitoring every move of the “Greek Escobar,” tracked his vessel via satellite as it was sailing in the Atlantic Ocean toward the west coast of Africa.

On July 13, officers of the Spanish authorities boarded the Africa 1, where they discovered the cocaine. The drugs were packed in cardboard boxes bearing labels of mineral water.

In August 2004, the drug trafficker was located in Stuttgart, Germany, and arrested. From the very first moment he fell into the hands of law enforcement, he claimed he had nothing to do with the case. However, he failed to convince them. At first instance, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Five-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies of Piraeus, however, later commuted the life sentence to 22 years in prison.