Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-12-22

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Three life sentences handed down in cocaine smuggling case

[01] Three life sentences handed down in cocaine smuggling case

The felony court convicted Alexandros Angelopoulos, the accused mastermind of a major Latin America-Europe cocaine smuggling ring, as well as defendants Georgios Maragoudakis and Nikolaos Gavrilis of felony narcotics trafficking, racketeering and possession of illegal weapons. The three were also fined 300,000 euros each.

The case stems from the confiscation of 5.5 tons of cocaine aboard a fishing trawler sailing in the Atlantic last summer.

Conversely, two defendants, Nikolaos Antonakakis and Apostolos Bousios, were acquitted of all charges.

The massive cocaine cache was discovered aboard the Belize-registered trawler 'Africa 1' by Spanish customs agents in July 2004 after they were tipped off by Greek authorities. America's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was also involved in the bust, which took place approximately 100 kilometers off the SW coast of Spain. The crew of the vessel, five Greek nationals and an Italian, were detained on board the vessel.

Angelopoulos, aka "the fat man", was a well-known northern Greece businessman and football club owner prior to the incident and his subsequent arrest in Germany.

According to reports, Angelopoulos purchased the vessel in early May with the intention of sailing from Piraeus to Turkey. However, the vessel was soon placed under surveillance and it was discovered to have changed course and headed towards the Atlantic. The vessel loaded the cocaine in Brazil and headed towards Spain, authorities said.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article