Kolonaki drug dealer arrested after two years on the run

Police said on Wednesday they had arrested the 54-year-old mastermind of a cocaine dealing gang after a two-year search.

The suspect had reportedly been dealing cocaine out of a restaurant he co-owns in the upmarket Kolonaki district of central Athens.

He was arrested on Monday in Kolonaki on a warrant issued in 2016 on charges of being a member of two criminal gangs that smuggled large quantities of drugs, including cocaine, hash and ecstasy, into Greece from Albania.

Police dismantled the gangs in February 2016 and made nine arrests.

The 54-year-old had managed to avoid arrest until last Monday. He was remanded in custody.