Tanker At Center of Record Heroin Bust

The tanker “Noor One”. Photo courtesy Hellenic Coast Guard.

The Hellenic Coast Guard says it has seized a record of more than 2 tons of heroin smuggled into the country aboard a Togolese-flagged tanker, leading to the arrest of the ship and all 11 crew members.

The heroin was found by Greek law enforcement in two stashes including a 2,175-pound stash which was seized Saturday night at a warehouse in an eastern Athens suburb and 2,500-pound stash that was found June 12 at two locations in the Athens area, according to a report from Associated Press.

The coast guard said Sunday that the drugs had been smuggled into Greece aboard the tanker, Noor One, which had got the drugs from international waters between Oman and Pakistan. The ship is currently being held in the port of Eleusis, Greece. 

All 11 of the tanker’s crew members have been arrested. Three others were also arrested as they attempted to retrieve the drugs.

The seizure is believed to be the largest ever heroin seizure in Greece with an estimated value of $30 million, the AP reports.

The bust was helped by information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in Athens, the coast guard said.