Greek police seize tonne of cocaine, arrest 8 foreigners

Police in Greece said Saturday they had seized weapons and more than a tonne of cocaine and arrested eight foreign nationals in a series of raids on a drug-smuggling network. The suspects being held had been bringing drugs into Europe and North Africa from the Caribbean by yacht, police said in a statement. They were thought to have made more than 50 million euros.

Officers found 1,040 kilos of cocaine contained in one-kilo pouches packed into travel bags in a Friday raid on the western port of Astakos. They arrested the two people living there, aged 23 and 35. Police in Athens meanwhile raided three apartments there, arresting six more people, all foreign nationals.

They found another 394 grams of cocaine in one apartment, as well as a Kalashnikov rifle, two pistols, and ammunition. The police raids came after a six-month investigation which involved the cooperation of the US embassy in Athens and police in Albania and Spain.

The leaders of the drug network were based in a European country, and suspected members of the organization had been identified in the Balkans and in Spain, said police. Police in Greece and in other countries were still searching for nine other suspected members of the network, the statement added.

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