Suspects in mammoth Thessaloniki cocaine haul remanded

A Thessaloniki magistrate on Thursday ordered that five suspects in the biggest drug bust ever to have taken place in the northern port city be held in custody until their trial.

The five suspects, who include a 50-year-old man who is believed to be the ringleader of the gang, stand accused of smuggling 585 kilograms of cocaine that was seized last week.

This is the largest amount of the narcotic ever intercepted in Thessaloniki and among the biggest hauls in Greece as a whole. Local authorities were tipped off to the existence of the drugs by the Athens branch of the American Drug Enforcement Agency. 

Along with his 42-year-old wife, two nephews, aged 21 and 33 respectively, and another man aged 35, the suspects are also facing charges of forming a criminal organization.

In their depositions to the investigating magistrate, four of the five suspects claimed they were “following orders” and were transporting the drugs for a third party. The woman denied any involvement.

There has been no official announcement about when, how or from where the drugs came into Greece, though their provenance is believed to be from South America as some of the 500 packages were labeled with a Swastika, a symbol also used by cartels there.

The cocaine was found in a round-up operation of the suspects last week. Investigators believe the drugs were going to be transported to Albania – two of the suspects have connections with the neighboring country – and smuggled to other parts of Europe from there.