Major drug-smuggling trial moved to Athens court
A major drug-smuggling trial that began this week at a court in Piraeus is to be transferred to the Athens Appeals Court, the Supreme Court decided on Thursday.
Judges took the decision after some of the lawyers representing the 33 suspects complained that the court in Piraeus was too small.
The trial concerns the discovery of 2 tons of heroin in Athens last year.
The drug was shipped to Greece on board the Noor 1 cargo ship. Eleven of those charged were the ship’s crew. Most of the suspects face charges of drug smuggling and forming a criminal organization.
The drugs were found in a warehouse in Koropi, east of Athens, and at a villa in the northern suburb of Filothei.
The Supreme Court said that the new court will sit every day apart from Wednesdays and October 23 specifically.
Of the 33 people standing trial, 25 are in custody but the maximum 18-month pre-trial detention period will expire for some of them on December 13.
