The owner of a roastery in Patras found himself involved in a drug case in an incredible way, which may cause laughter, but for him it was an adventure that could destroy his life.
But let's take things from the beginning. According to the newspaper Peloponnisos, the case was revealed on March 1, 2021, when police officers of the Narcotics Department stopped one of the defendants on the NEO Athens - Patras, at the height of Labiriou, driving a car in which a package containing 1,156 grams of cocaine was found.
Subsequently, a total of five arrests were made, with the defendants being charged with felony charges for other acts. During searches of their homes, 43.9 grams of cocaine, 2.2 grams of cannabis, two electronic scales, nylon packets and an address book with names were found.
Problematic case file
In court yesterday, two of the defendants were fully acquitted of all charges and one was found guilty of possessing just 2.2 grams of cocaine and was therefore found not guilty of being a drug user. The main defendant, alleged by the police to be the 'leader' of the alleged criminal organisation, was found guilty of possession of cocaine but, as a drug dealer, was sentenced to just two years in prison, while another co-defendant was also found guilty only of possession of drugs found in his possession, for simple complicity, and was sentenced to three years' suspended imprisonment.
The indictment handed down to them by the police from telephone intercepts alone was a heavy one, as they were alleged to be members of a criminal organisation that had carried out more than 800 drug sales to around 60 users in Patras and transported quantities of cocaine from Athens.
Phrases such as "a walk to see you, to admire you", "a coffee", "with the little one", "with the little one", "training without the machine", "father", "mother", "old woman", "nomaioi", "uncle", "aunt" referred to small quantities of cocaine, according to the police.
Also, expressions such as "cage", "car", "apartment building", "gasoline", "beer", "souvlaki", etc., accompanied by the word "large", indicated the quantities of drugs each customer wanted to order.
These conversations, however, were not accompanied by any evidence of a criminal organization, or even a gang, as the president of the court said, so the convictions were limited to the drugs found and their possessors.
The case of the roaster
Of those acquitted, the case of a roaster who had been charged because of an order that was dubbed hashish instead of chicken stands out. "A shopkeeper who runs a shop in the centre of Patras received a telephone order from a customer for three portions of chicken with Jack Daniels sauce, a bottle of Coca Cola and water and this was dubbed 3 kilos of hashish and he was found accused in the criminal court," said Patron Christos Tsolkas.
Source: gazzetta.gr
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