In Arcadia, police seized 160 kilograms of marijuana

On Sunday, in the Arcadia region (central Peloponnese), authorities dismantled a criminal organization involved in the cultivation and trafficking of drugs. Six members of the organization were arrested.

Among other things, more than 160 kg of cannabis were seized, and the profit that the organization could have received, according to the police, is estimated at 600 thousand euros. The cannabis was obtained from a plantation located in one of the local communities of the municipality of Gortynia (Peloponnese).

Four foreigners aged 39 to 45 and two Greeks aged 62 and 64 were arrested on Sunday. According to the police, members of the group were systematically involved in the cultivation, processing, transportation, storage and trafficking of significant quantities of cannabis in the Arcadia and Attica areas.

Six arrests

The six arrested were found to have a pistol, mobile phones and a large amount of money. A case has been brought against them on charges of organizing a criminal community and violating drug laws, as well as – in some cases – weapons and foreigners. According to the police, those arrested had created a criminal organization since at least April 2023 and operated until October 22, 2023, within which they were involved in drug trafficking in the Arcadia and Attica areas, receiving significant amounts of money.

How the scheme worked
As the investigation found, the organization had a hierarchical structure with continuous activities and clearly defined roles, and the arrested 45-year-old foreigner was one of its leading members.

The amount of cannabis came from a cannabis plantation in the local community in the municipality of Hortinia, which the criminals cultivated together and then sent to the prefectures of Arcadia and Attica.

After obtaining the drugs, group members used hired cars and taxis to transport them to hiding places or to their homes in order to eliminate the possibility of surveillance or surveillance. Members of the criminal organization, in order to disguise their illegal activities and divert the attention of law enforcement agencies, used telephone connections registered in the names of other persons or foreign citizens of third countries.

During the operation, searches were carried out in the houses, open areas and vehicles of those arrested, where the following were found and seized:

• Consignments of raw cannabis with a total weight of 101,458.2 grams,
• Plant extracts of raw hemp with a total weight of 67.646 grams,
• 4 vehicles,
• 3 precise scales,
• 8 mobile phones,
• income from drug trafficking in the amount of -15,385 euros,
• 1 revolver,
• 3 cartridges,
• 1 electric generator,
• several units of drying equipment,
• 1 gas heater,
• 2 sleeping bags,
• a number of tools designed for growing and packaging drugs.

At the same time, it is estimated that those arrested received illegal property benefits exceeding 600,000 euros from their criminal activities. They will be delivered to the competent Tripoli prosecutor’s office.

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