Drug squad officers said yesterday that they had arrested three people in an apartment in Pangrati, central Athens, in connection with an international cocaine-smuggling ring.

Two of the men, aged 29 and 31, are suspected of bringing the drugs to Greece from Colombia, via the Netherlands, and selling them to a list of clients that they had compiled over the last 18 months.

The third unnamed man arrested, aged 44, had just bought 25 grams of cocaine from the two suspects to allegedly sell to other users, officers said. Another 63 grams of cocaine were also found at the property. Police confiscated some 93,000 euros from the suspected dealers.

In an unrelated development, officers said yesterday that they arrested another five people who allegedly sold drugs and sleeping pills.