A random inspection on a car near Thessaloniki yesterday led regional police to their biggest heroin haul in 25 years when they discovered 47 kilos of the drug – worth 3.5 million euros – in the trunk of the vehicle.

Officers started chasing the car after the driver refused to stop at a roadblock outside the town of Katerini. They cornered the vehicle after it smashed into two parked cars, but the driver managed to escape. Police said they know the suspect, a 22-year-old Albanian whose family is based in Florina. A senior officer, who described him as “a significant link in a well-organized chain,” said he was surprised at the boldness of the venture. “Other drivers worry about getting a ticket for not wearing their seat belt and this guy had a load of heroin in his trunk,” he said.

The heroin, packed into two rucksacks, is believed to have been smuggled into Greece from Albania.