Drug smuggling

International hash smuggling ring smashed

A joint operation by Greek and German police was under way Tuesday across the country to unravel a ring that imported drugs from Albania and distributed them to Central Europe through Greece.

The crackdown began on Monday night and led to four arrests in Greece and Germany and the confiscation of 210 kilos of hashish found in a truck at the port of Igoumenitsa in northwestern Greece heading for Italy. According to Greek police, the masterminds of the ring are Albanian drug lords who control some 80 percent of the hashish distribution into Europe, mainly with trucks.