On Monday at the port of Piraeus, authorities in Greece confiscated a large quantity of cocaine whose value reportedly exceeds one million euros.
According to a port authority statement, the operation was carried out in cooperation with the HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) Office of the US Embassy in Athens and involved members of the Narcotics and Smuggling Unit, the Narcotics Task Force, and the Security Office of the Central Port Authority of Piraeus.
Authorities found 30 packages of cocaine, weighing a total of 34 kilograms and 354 grams (approximately 76 pounds) in a ship container that had arrived at the port’s container terminal from Ecuador. The cocaine had been placed in the refrigeration unit of the container with a legal cargo of bananas.
Two more containers were subsequently searched with negative results. “The Central Port Authority of Piraeus, which is conducting the preliminary investigation, seized the drugs found, which will then be sent to the State General Chemical Laboratory,” the port authority statement said.
Greece at the crossroads of cocaine trafficking
Greece’s geographical position at the point where three continents meet makes it a gateway between east and west. It is thus a key route for the worldwide drug trade, the most lucrative of the international criminal trades.
The port of Piraeus, one of Europe’s largest container ports, is a key entry point for cocaine smuggled in shipping containers.
In recent years, Greek authorities have intercepted hundreds of kilograms of cocaine concealed in various cargo, such as shrimp, bananas, and squid.
These seizures have exposed the involvement of international criminal organizations, often with roots in Latin America and the Balkans.
In May 2024, Greece seized 210 kilos and 300 grams (approximately 463 pounds) of cocaine found in a container at the port of Piraeus.
The drugs were discovered in 180 nylon packages hidden in containers of frozen shrimp that had arrived from South America. Greek authorities believe the destination was Albania. From there, they would have been channeled to Central and Northern Europe.
In September 2023, 585 kilograms (1,290 pounds) of cocaine from Latin America were seized by police in Thessaloniki.
Police photographs of the drug haul suggest some of the packages were labeled with Nazi swastikas.
In May 2023, Peruvian authorities seized packages of cocaine marked with Nazi swastikas as well as the name “Hitler” at a port in northern Peru. The packages were to be shipped to Belgium.
This was the second time within the space of a few months that police in Thessaloniki seized a large shipment of cocaine.
In June 2023, officers of the drug enforcement unit found 161 kilograms (355 pounds) of cocaine in packages that had been stuffed into hidden compartments in a shipping container. The haul was estimated to have a street value of at least 3.2 million euros.
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