Over 800 kilograms of pure cocaine, valued at more than €50 million on the retail market, were seized in Pikermi, Greece. The drugs were hidden inside raw cattle hides imported from Latin America and were destined for distribution across Greece by an international drug trafficking network. Leading the operation was a 45-year-old Albanian national living permanently in Spain. Representing the cartels in Greece were a Bolivian and a Colombian national who acted as chemical experts responsible for extracting the cocaine from the hides.
The group also included Greeks and Albanians playing secondary roles. Notably, none had prior criminal records related to narcotics, making them less likely to draw attention from law enforcement. The downfall began with a tip from the DEA to Greece’s FBI counterpart about a new method of smuggling cocaine through Greece from Latin America.
This time, the cocaine arrived embedded in raw cowhides shipped in containers from Bolivia via Chile to Piraeus. Investigators identified a newly established company that had never imported hides before but had suddenly placed a large order. Surveillance revealed the company purchased unusual quantities of chemicals not typically used in leather processing.
Police tracked the hides to a warehouse in Spata, converted into a cocaine processing lab. A visit from the Spanish-based boss gave the final go-ahead for operations. Early yesterday morning, police raided the site with EMAC firefighters equipped with special masks. Inside, they found around 100kg of cocaine already extracted from 200 hides, and another 1,500 hides still awaiting processing—enough to yield hundreds more kilograms of cocaine over a two-month period.
The Bolivian and Colombian ‘chemists’ were arrested on-site, along with four other individuals assisting in the process. Authorities also seized 1,500 additional impregnated hides, 245kg of chemicals, full laboratory equipment, a pistol, two hunting rifles, and more than €82,000.