Greek police broke up an international ring of Greek and Albanian dealers in Attica and Larissa on Saturday 19 March 2011, seizing nearly two tonnes of cannabis meant for western Europe.[1] The Attica Security drugs squad ran the raid with the Attica financial-crimes unit and the US embassy’s Drug Enforcement Administration office, and arrested six suspects.[1]
Those held were one Albanian and five Greeks, including the suspected mastermind, who owned a trucking company and other businesses in Larissa, and one of his closest associates.[1] A three-month investigation and tip-off had put the two under surveillance after detectives learned the ring was moving cannabis to England in long-haul trucks.[1]
Police found a large warehouse in the industrial area of Aspropyrgos, Attica, fitted out to hide drugs in special crypts in truck floors and roofs.[1] Officers seized two trucks holding one tonne and 200 kilos of cannabis, plus 620 kilos guarded in the warehouse by an Albanian armed with a Kalashnikov rifle.[1] They also took three trucks, a private car, the guard’s rifle and ammunition, 32,455 euro along with British cash, twelve mobile phones and four precision scales.[1] Three truck drivers and the man who had leased the warehouse were among those arrested.[1]
Questioned suspects admitted at least two more cannabis shipments to England by truck in February 2011, and police said they were turning to the group’s finances to pursue money laundering.[1]
