The bust was the result of a large joint operation between the coast guard and Greek police in cooperation with the American anti-narcotics DEA. Greek Coast Guard officers performed dawn raids on a warehouse in the area of Koropi on the outskirts of Athens and at the luxury Athens homes of several alleged members of the drug smuggling gang.
According to Kathimerini citing well informed sources, one of the locations raided by the Coast Guard was a villa in the upscale neighborhood of Filothei which was owned by the ex-wife of a Greek businessman and shipowner who was also arrested during the raid together with their 15 year old son. The shipowner has previously declared owning four Dubai based tankers although his claims are still under investigation by the authorities.
Approximately 500 kilos of heroin were reportedly found at the Filothei villa. A similar amount was uncovered at the Koropi warehouse. In total 1 tonne and 113 kilograms of heroin was seized – the largest drug bust in Greek history and one of the largest at the European level. Reportedly it was pure and valued at about 30 million euros, while according to some reports on the street it could have fetched up to 200 million euros.
The officers also seized six luxury cars allegedly used to traffic drugs, 5 kilos of cocaine, several thousand euros and a pistol with a loaded magazine.
Of the 11 people arrested six are Greek and five from Turkey. According to reports the heroin was shipped to Greece from Iran via Turkey and was due to be transported to Belgium and Germany. According to Kathimerini, on Thursday night individuals were seen by undercover investigators transporting drugs from the Filothei villa to the Koropi warehouse. The ring had set up several moving companies in Belgium and Turkey as fronts in order to transport the drugs without raising suspicions. Kathimerini also states that ring was based in Istanbul and led by a Turkish citizen who has been in Athens for the last few days. The ring would regularly transport 2-3 tonnes of heroin from Iran through Turkey and into Western Europe.
The suspects had reportedly been under observation for 6 months and some members even arrested for smuggling smaller amounts of drugs between Greece and Albania and subsequently charged with misdemeanors in order for them to continue operating and betray the entire ring. All of the arrestees have now been arraigned before the Prosecutor in Piraeus.