MAJOR DRUG BUST SHOWCASES U.S.-GREEK COOPERATION

UNCLAS ATHENS 001317 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR EUR/SE, INL/C, INL/AAE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: GR TU PGOV PREL SNAR SUBJECT: MAJOR DRUG BUST SHOWCASES U.S.-GREEK COOPERATION REF: ATHENS 01231 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On May 15, 2006, Hellenic authorities arrested four alleged leaders of the international Stathopoulos drug trafficking organization. Greek police also seized approximately 100,000 MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy) tablets, roughly 1,040,000 euros (USD 1,333,000) in drug-related proceeds, and two vehicles. The arrests are attributed to a successful Athens DEA Country Officer undercover infiltration operation that began in March 2005 and showcase strong U.S.-Greek cooperation in combating drug trafficking, an MPP goal. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) The Andreas Stathopoulos drug trafficking organization (DTO) is responsible for distributing hundreds of kilograms of cocaine, multi-million tablet quantities of MDMA/ecstasy and multi-ton quantities of ephedrine throughout Europe and Australia. Assisting Greek officials, Athens DEA Country Officer (CO) recruited and developed a confid ential source with intimate knowledge of the Andreas Stathopoulos DTO in March 2005, and by July 2005 Athens authorities were able to infiltrate the organization. ¶3. (SBU) Undercover agents met with Stathopoulos several times over the next year throughout Greece to negotiate terms for Stathopoulos to supply undercover agents with multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and multi-thousand MDMA/ecstasy tablets in exchange for multi-ton quantities of ephedrine. Final agreement involved an exchange of 400,000 MDMA/ecstasy tablets for one ton of ephedrine, with Stathopoulos requesting the undercover agents sell an additional 100,000 MDMA/ecstasy tablets in the U.S. on Stathopoulos' behalf. It was agreed that future transactions would be contingent upon the success of this exchange (reftel). Hellenic Authorities arrested Stathopoulos, along with three other leaders of the DTO, Konstantinos Skouras, Dimitris Samsonidis, and Australian national Leigh William Dalton. The arrests were made without incident during the "exchange" meeting in Agia Marina, Greece on May 15, 2006. ¶4. (SBU) A parallel financial investigation focusing on the Stathopoulos DTO's drug-related assets identified two bank accounts held by Skouras and Samsonidis, with a combined total of 920,000 euro (USD 1,180,000). These accounts were frozen and are subject to seizure pending the outcome of the trial. A search or Skouras' and Samsonidis' residence led to the seizure of a loaded automatic weapon and two cars. Dalton's residence contained approximately 920,000 euro (USD 1,180,000) in bank drafts (the DTO's financial instrument for laundering drug-related proceeds). From May 2004-May 2005, the Stathopoulos DTO purchased in excess of 282 bank drafts totaling 1,300,000 euros (approximately USD 1,666,000). Warrants were obtained prior to all searches and Hellenic authorities will seize accounts pursuant to Hellenic Laws ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: Combating international trafficking in narcotics by effectively identifying, disrupting, and eliminating drug smuggling is an MPP performance objective. This challenging year-long investigation by Greek law enforcement agencies clearly contributed to this MPP performance objective. Moreover, the case involved active collaboration and information sharing between Greek authorities and the Athens Drug Enforcement Administration office, and demonstrates strengthening of Greek law enforcement institutions, an MPP strategic objective. This successful case is a testament to Greek authorities' commitment to cooperating with U.S. DEA authorities to disrupt criminal organizations. Countryman