Ecstasy bust lands 2 big fish
One of the two Bulgarian nationals arrested in Thessaloniki on Monday in possession of thousands of party drug pills is one of the biggest drug dealers in Europe, police said yesterday. The other suspect, Alexander Vassilev, 30, is a serving member of an elite Bulgarian police squad. Thessaloniki’s police chief, Giorgos Kokkinis, told a press conference that Georgi Constantinov, 40, is a leading member of a Pan-European drug smuggling gang that had close ties with the Thessaloniki underworld. Vassilev is believed to be one of his closest henchmen. Police confiscated 4,543 ecstasy pills in the possession of the two men, who were arrested near the Neapolis bus terminus. The drugs are believed to have been brought from Germany, while the two suspects came to Greece by ferry from Italy, landing at Igoumenitsa on Sunday. Kokkinis said Monday’s arrests were not connected with the arrest, on Saturday in Athens, of 12 people suspected of dealing in ecstasy pills, 1,800 of which were seized. He said two Thessaloniki men were being held on suspicion of maintaining links with the two Bulgarians.
