Twenty packs of cocaine total gross weight 17.598 kgwere detected on a container ship in Piraeus, during the evening hours of 26.03.2023.

The Hong Kong-flagged ship had departed from Ecuador loaded with bananas and its final destination Nicomedia of Turkey. The narcotic substances, the trafficking of which would bring about an illegal financial gain with a total value of more than 600,000 euros, were detected by the ship’s crew in boxes with electrical equipment.

The ship had sailed to Piraeus for damage repair and the captain, after detecting the narcotics, notified the authorities.

Executives of the Regional Drug Prosecution Team (P.O.D.I.N.) of the Central Port Authority of Piraeus and Rafina, with police drug detection dogs, carried out a check on the external and internal areas of the ship. A team of the Underwater Missions Unit, officials of the 3rd Customs of Piraeus and the Directorate of Criminal Activities of the Hellenic Police Headquarters contributed to the investigation. As part of the investigation, a tracking device and the above amount of narcotic substance were seized.