On July 18, a Piraeus Criminal Appeals Court acquitted 17 out of 32 defendants facing charges in connection with the drug-laden “Noor 1” tanker, which was intercepted carrying 2.1 tonnes of heroin in 2014. The court handed down guilty verdicts for the rest, though none were identified as the leader of the criminal organisation transporting the drugs.
The convicted list includes the two Greek nationals responsible for leasing the ship, Dubai shipping broker Giorgos Bourdouvalis, who arranged for its journey from the United Arab Emirates to Elefsina, and ship owner Efthymios Yiannousakis, owner of the Filothei villa where 500 kilos of drugs were found. The two were found guilty of joining a criminal organisation and for the transportation, storage and possession of narcotics.
Three Turkish nationals were also found guilty as members of a criminal gang, while three more Greeks were found guilty as accomplices for the transportation of drugs.
The ship’s owner Pantelis Kalafatis was acquitted due to reasonable doubts, as were the rest of the crew – barring one Iranian man acting as an “escort” for the heroin, who was found guilty as an accomplice in the transportation of drugs.
The court is expected to read out the sentences on Wednesday morning, taking into account any mitigating circumstances raised by the counsel for the accused. Until the court’s verdict, there is no change in the restrictions imposed on the defendants during the trial, despite the public prosecutor’s proposal that those found guilty should be detained.
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Source: Greek Reporter
