Suspects in heroin bust to face prosecutor Tuesday and Wednesday

The 11 people arrested after just over a ton of heroin was seized in Athens on Thursday are due to face a prosecutor Tuesday and Wednesday.

The suspects, six Greeks and five Turks, appeared before a prosecutor in Piraeus on Friday but were given more time to prepare their depositions.

The Greeks will provide their depositions on Tuesday and the Turks a day later. They face charges of drug smuggling, forming a criminal organization and breaking firearms laws.

The drug was found at a home in Filothei, northern Athens, and a warehouse in Koropi, east of Athens, and constitutes one of the largest hauls ever made in Greece. Sources have told Kathimerini that the drug came from Iran and was transported to Greece via Turkey in a truck.

It is believed that an Istanbul-based gang is behind the trafficking, which aimed to cut the pure heroin – with a street value of around 30 million euros – and distribute it to Belgium and Germany.