A navy officer who is also the son of a policeman has been arrested on suspicion of dealing drugs in bars and nightclubs in Athens, police said yesterday.

The 22-year-old petty officer was arrested after police raided his home in Piraeus and seized some 1,000 ecstasy pills that had probably been smuggled from the Netherlands.

Officers arrested the unnamed suspect, who is the son of a police sergeant serving at the Nikaia police station, after previously detaining a 30-year-old insurance salesman in Halkida, Evia. The salesman, who had some 500 ecstasy pills in his possession, said the navy officer had supplied him with the drugs.

Police believe the pills came from a larger shipment smuggled into Greece before Christmas to meet higher demand for the drug from young people during the holidays.