Dramatic footage released by Greek police this weekend showed four British men reacting in panic as armed officers raided their rented villa in the port city of Thessaloniki.
The men, aged 38, 45, 48, and 52 and described as from Liverpool and London, stand accused of involvement in the upper echelons of organised crime in Western Europe, and their presence in Greece has raised eyebrows among experts. A fifth British man, believed to be outside Greece, is also wanted for questioning.
Liverpool drugs trafficking gangs are known for operating on an international level, with well documented links to South American cartels. But the Merseysiders thrown into Greek jail cells on Thursday have cropped up in unusual territory.
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They were arrested in relation to 300kg of cocaine concealed in a shipment of bananas, identified in Calabria, Italy, and seized in Thessaloniki. Greek officials said the investigation was a joint operation between the Hellenic Police, Italian authorities and the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Calabria is the home territory of the fearsome and powerful 'Ndrangheta mafia clans, whose tendrils extend across continents and whose members control vast swathes of the European cocaine trade. However, experts say up until now there has been no real sign of any of the large Italian mafia organisations directly competing or partnering with British organised crime groups.
The ECHO understands the trafficking of cocaine via Greek ports is typically a route used by Albanian master criminals, who have dominated the British cocaine market in recent years, but there has also been evidence of Albanian and Italian mafia groups working together.
Dr Anna Sergi, professor of criminology & organised crime at the University of Essex, and an expert in European mafia groups, told the ECHO the alleged involvement of British men in the trafficking of cocaine through Calabria was "puzzling".
Dr Sergi said another confusing aspect of the seizure was the fact Greek police said some of the cocaine shipment was destined for Australia, where long-established 'Ndrangheta franchises are believed to control vast swathes of the cocaine trade.
She said: "On a systematic level there has been no sign of any partnership between the 'Ndrangheta, or Cosa Nostra [A Sicilian based mafia group] or any of the big Italian mafia and British organised crime groups. I ran a project looking at this and Britain did not seem to have been infiltrated by the 'Ndrangheta, unlike almost every other country in Europe."
Dr Sergi said European cocaine trafficking was governed by a complicated and shifting pattern of agreements and deals between hugely powerful organisations, involving the Latin American, Albanian, Italian and Irish cartels, as well as smaller groups.
Alongside hundreds of blocks of cocaine, Greek police seized a pistol and bullets, radio and position equipment and more than 10 mobile phones. The suspects are set to appear in a Greek court.
