NEWS

Drugs detected in body of abducted girl

Drugs detected in body of abducted girl

The blood tests run on a 10-year-old girl who was found in a district of Thessaloniki on Saturday after having gone missing for three days showed traces of psychotropic substances, law enforcement and judicial authorities said on Tuesday.

The report indicates that the substances were administered to the young schoolgirl “relatively recently,” but did not specify the exact time, the sources said.

The drugs may also account for the confusion that the girl showed after she was found and during the first conversations she had with child psychologists and police officers.

Markella Verami went missing on June 11 on her way back from school in the district of Toumba.

Her mother had told a greek TV channel the next day that a fellow pupil claimed the 10-year-old girl left with a woman who accosted her as the children were leaving school at around 1.30 p.m.

Markella was found safe and well in the city’s Kalamaria neighborhood on Saturday.

Authorities are reportedly close to finding the woman who took the girl and, according to police sources, is believed to be from her wider family. Markella is said t have identified the woman.

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