Gang caught smuggling cocaine-infused leather from Latin America to Europe
They said the method used by the gang signalled a shift in methods for smuggling the drug from South America to Europe.
Eleven people have been arrested so far, including nationals form Bolivia and Spain, after police monitored the suspects for months following a tip-off by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the officials said.
The gang had set up a laboratory in Athens to extract the cocaine from the leather, which had been dried with salt, they said.
Police confiscated at least 300 packages with salt mixed with cocaine and estimated the total amount of cocaine in the lab to be more than 800 kg (1,764 pounds).
The suspects are expected to appear before a prosecutor to respond to the charges on Friday.
This is Greece's second case involving cocaine poured into garments. In late May, police dismantled a ring which was smuggling clothes soaked into liquid cocaine from Ecuador.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Reuters
Hot dog survives locker ordeal at Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle
BERLIN, July 6 (Reuters) - A dog was rescued from a locker for valuables at Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany after its owner shut her pet inside over the objections of other tourists so that she could visit the famous attraction, police said on Sunday. Neuschwanstein, a picture-postcard castle with surging turrets nestled in the Alps near the border with Austria, is one of Germany's top tourist attractions. Despite it being a hot summer's day and half the locker already having been filled by a pram, the woman locked the dog inside the small space and left to tour the castle, police in the nearby town of Fuessen said in a statement. Security staff were alerted and freed the dog, they added. "The dog was fortunately unharmed but visibly glad when it was rescued from the already hot locker," the police statement said, adding that officers deployed to the scene took him back to the police station. The police did not specify what breed the dog was but said it was of "medium" size and about 60 cm (two feet) tall at the shoulder. An officer on duty at Fuessen police station contacted by telephone said the dog was a mongrel. Police said they had initiated criminal proceedings against the owner on suspicion of breaking Germany's animal welfare law.
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Theory emerges about what caused triple-fatal crash in country Victoria
Three people are dead and another has been critically injured after a horror crash on a regional road that police suspect might have been caused by a kangaroo. The collision involving two SUVs occurred about 7.20am on Sunday on Bolinda-Darraweit Road in the Macedon Ranges, northwest of Melbourne. The triple fatality brought the number of lives lost on Victorian roads in 72 hours to six, prompting renewed warnings from authorities. Three people travelling in one SUV died at the scene, while two others involved in the crash were taken to hospital, one of whom had life-threatening injuries. A dead kangaroo was found near the scene, with police looking into whether one of the SUVs had veered to avoid it. 'It appears one of the vehicles has veered into incoming traffic ... and they've collided head-on, which has caused the catastrophic scene,' Senior Sergeant Ben Morris told reporters. 'We're not 100 per cent sure ... we're still working through the scene to confirm the involvement of the animal.' A motorist died hours later after a head-on collision on the Western Highway in Buangor, about 181km west of Melbourne. Police were called to the scene after a car reportedly veered onto the wrong side of the freeway and collided with another vehicle. The driver of the first car died at the scene and has yet to be formally identified. The second car's driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while a female passenger was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. In a separate incident on Saturday night, a rider died and another is fighting for life after a crash involving two motorcycles and two vehicles on the Western Freeway at Grangefields, near Melbourne. A 16-year-old boy died in the city's east on Friday after being hit by a car, while an e-bike rider was critically injured in Geelong. Road Policing Command Superintendent Justin Goldsmith said most of the serious collisions at the weekend were on regional roads. 'Every life lost is one too many,' he said. 'What we have seen this weekend has been devastating and there are many families whose lives have changed forever as a result of the trauma on our roads.' Ambulance Victoria CEO Jordan Emery described the fatalities and injuries as the most horrific of circumstances. 'As a paramedic, I realise that these events are part of our job, but the tragic loss of life through road trauma is especially tough,' he said.'If there is one message we can send, it's to please take care when on the road. The impact is felt well beyond those behind the wheel.' There have been 156 lives lost on Victorian roads this year, 15 more than the same time in 2024.
Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Reuters
Explosive device likely damaged Greek tanker off Libya last week, operator says
ATHENS, July 6 (Reuters) - An external explosive device most likely caused the blast that damaged Greek oil tanker Vilamoura as it was sailing off the Libyan coast last week, the vessel's Greece-based operator TMS Tankers said on Sunday, citing an initial investigation. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left the Libyan port of Zuetina on June 27 to head to Gibraltar with some 1 million barrels of oil when there was an explosion in the engine room. "Preliminary investigation findings clearly indicate that the explosion, the resulting fracture of the side shell plating, and the flooding of the engine room were caused by an external source —an unidentified explosive device," TMS Tankers said. Maritime security sources told Reuters last week that a limpet mine may have caused the blast on Vilamoura, the fifth such incident to hit commercial shipping in the region in recent months. Following the explosion and the flooding of its engine room the vessel lost manoeuvrability, although it was able to be towed towards Greece. The vessel has now arrived safely at Laconikos Bay in Greece and its crew are in good health, the operator added in a statement.
