A Scouse drugs trafficking cartel was brought down when an undercover police officer convinced its members he could smuggle 300kg of cocaine out of a port, according to reports.
Four British men, at least three who are from Merseyside, were arrested in the Greek northern city of Thessaloniki on June 9 when armed police stormed a luxury villa. The drugs were seized alongside a handgun, ammunition, mobile phones and geo-location equipment.
The drugs had been hidden in a shipment of bananas from South America, which had arrived in Greece via Calabria, Italy. The group are also believed to be linked to earlier shipments of cocaine.
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Under Greek privacy laws, the men have not been officially named by the authorities. However it has been confirmed one suspect, aged 44, is also wanted for questioning by West Midlands Police in connection with the brutal murder of Polish national Tomasz Samel, 45, who was kidnapped from his Birmingham home and set on fire in 2019.
The Greek authorities, who conducted the raids in co-operation with the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Italian customs, say that a fifth man from Liverpool is also wanted but is believed to be in Colombia. It has been reported he is the brother of one of the men in custody.
Recent reports in the Greek media, based on police case files, described how the gang were brought down by an undercover police officer who gained their confidence. According to the reports, the officer offered to smuggle the cocaine out of the port for a fee and transport it to a villa the men had rented.
The officer was also told the men were working with another group who were smuggling huge quantities of cocaine into Greece.
The men have appeared in court charged with drug smuggling offences, and are in custody. A trial is expected to be some way off.
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