Cretan ‘Escobar’ released for second time citing health grounds
A 49-year-old man with prior drug-related convictions held in pre-trail detention in Crete over charges of drug trafficking was released after four months, citing health problems.
The suspect, known as “Crete’s Escobar,” was detained last February, along with his 22-year-old son and a 40-year-old woman, for trying to import 1.72 kilos of cocaine from the Netherlands to Greece. The drugs were hidden in household appliances. All three were then remanded in custody, with the agreement of the investigative magistrate and prosecutor.
But the suspect’s lawyer requested his conditional release citing a “serious health problem.” The investigative magistrate allowed him to leave prison on the condition that he does not leave the country and appears at his local police station once a month.
This is the second time that the 49-year-old cites health reasons to be released from jail. After his arrest and later conviction to life imprisonment over three kilos of cocaine found buried in a field in the area of Gortyna, in southern Crete, in June 2017, and then by an appeals court in September 2019, he cited again serious health reasons and was onditionally released.
