Large cannabis haul but smuggler escapes
Police were yesterday scouring the mountains near the Albanian border after a man who had been carrying more than 110 kilos of cannabis in his vehicle eluded arrest following a dramatic car chase. Officers who had set up a road block on the Konitsa-Ioannina national road started chasing the suspect when he refused to stop for a routine check. At one point the man lost control of the vehicle, which overturned and tumbled into a field. The suspect managed to extricate himself from the wreck and run off before police could catch him. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed five bags containing just over 110 kilos of cannabis. Police believe that the suspect picked up the drugs at the border and had been due to distribute them to dealers in different parts of Greece. It is unclear whether the suspect was Greek or Albanian.