Greek and German police bust international cocaine ring
Greek and German police have dismantled an international drug gang suspected of distributing large quantities of cocaine in Germany, Greece and other EU countries.
During coordinated raids, Greek police detained two suspected gang members, while German authorities arrested three others, police in Athens said in a statement on Sunday.
According to authorities, the German detainees include a 66-year-old German national and two men aged 27 and 28, whose nationalities were not disclosed. In Greece, two Greek males, aged 52 and 62, were arrested.
The exact locations of the raids were not revealed.
Other gang members, whose identities remain unknown, were said to be still at large. Authorities seized around 300 kilograms of cocaine during the raids in both countries.
Athens police described the gang as highly organized, with members assigned specific roles ranging from coordinating transport and recruiting drivers to selling and distributing the drugs to users.
Greek investigators estimate the gang had generated more than €5 million ($5.8 million) in illegal profits before being dismantled.
Drug operations in Greece are often concentrated on jet-set islands such as Mykonos known to have many wealthy consumers of narcotics, according to police.
The Athens Police Department said the investigation was conducted in close cooperation with German authorities, with crucial leads provided by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
