Greek Coast Guard seizes over 18 kg of cocaine at Lavrio port, arrests 43-year-old Briton

The stop at Lavrio

Officers from the security office of the Central Port Authority of Piraeus, working with the drug trafficking and smuggling directorate of the Hellenic Coast Guard, stopped a passenger car at the commercial port of Lavrio on the morning of 26 October. The car carried foreign number plates. A trained drug-detection dog gave a positive signal during the check, and the driver and the vehicle were then taken to the central port of Piraeus for a fuller search. The operation followed information the directorate had passed to the port officers.

The cocaine and the hidden compartment

In Piraeus, officers counted 127 plastic packages of cocaine with a combined gross weight of 18 kilograms and 113 grams, which the Coast Guard gave as 18.113 kg. The packages were hidden in the domed sections of the luggage compartment and in a specially built compartment beneath the main storage space. That compartment opened through a concealed button that was not part of the car's original construction. Officers also seized the car and one mobile phone. The drugs are to be sent to the State General Chemical Laboratory for testing.

Arrest and legal basis

The 43-year-old British national was arrested for breaching Law 4139/2013 on addictive substances. The preliminary investigation is being carried out by the Central Port Authority of Piraeus. The seizure is presented as part of the Coast Guard's continuing work against drug trafficking through Greek ports. Video material from the operation is available on the Coast Guard's website, www.hcg.gr.

Value estimates and expected gain

The two figures in circulation differ by a wide margin. The competent authorities put the value of the seized cocaine between 344,147 and 452,827 euros. Separately, the Coast Guard said the expected illicit gain from selling the quantity at street level exceeds 1.3 million euros, a figure the shipping minister repeated. The sources give both numbers without reconciling them.

Lower estimate344,147

Upper estimate452,827

Lower estimate

344147 EUR

Upper estimate

452827 EUR

Data from the article text

Minister's reaction

Vasilis Kikilias, Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, congratulated the Coast Guard officers for their professionalism in a post on X. He pointed to the state's ongoing support for the force in its work against drugs. He said:

“We support the men and women of the Coast Guard every day in the fight against drugs. For the safety of citizens and the protection of our children.”