Andros: 2,320 grams of narcotics seized

Narcotic substances with a total gross weight of 2,320 grams were located and seized by the Andros Port Authority, according to an announcement by the Hellenic Coast Guard released on Friday 21 August 2026, at 16:56. The total weight comes from two separate finds, located one day apart from each other. The first came in the early morning hours of Wednesday 19 August 2026 at the beach of “GALIA” on Andros, where, after information was acted upon and searches carried out, a nylon package was found containing a substance which, the announcement says, is probably cocaine, with a gross weight of 1,230 grams. The substance has not been definitively identified, as its laboratory examination is still pending.

The following day, Thursday 20 August 2026, a team from the Coast Guard’s Underwater Missions Unit assisted in the operation, carrying out an underwater search of the wider sea area off the beach. At the same time, searches were carried out at neighbouring beaches on the island. There, at a rocky spot, a second nylon package was located containing a substance also believed to be cocaine, with a gross weight of 1,090 grams. Both quantities were seized by the port authorities. The Coast Guard announcement makes no mention of arrests, does not attribute the finds to any particular person or network and does not explain how the packages came to be in that area. Nor is it made clear whether the two finds are connected beyond their geographical proximity.

The incident is recorded at a time of intensive checks by the authorities on the islands of the Cyclades, at the peak of the summer season, when traffic on the beaches and in the ports is at its height. In recent weeks arrests on Mykonos, Thira and Syros were announced, while a separate case concerned drug trafficking on Mykonos. In the case of Andros, the quantities were found in an open beach area and in the sea zone around it, and not in a vehicle, a boat or a home, which explains the involvement of divers in the search. No information has been given on whether the material was destined for the island or for another destination.

The preliminary investigation is being carried out by the Andros Port Authority. The seized quantities will be sent to the State General Chemical Laboratory, where they will be examined so that the exact contents of the two packages can be identified. Until that process is completed, the description of the material as cocaine remains an estimate by the authorities and not an established finding, as the announcement itself notes with the wording “probably cocaine”. The text does not say whether anyone is being sought in connection with the case, or whether the searches in the sea area off Andros continued after Thursday 20 August 2026. Nor has it been disclosed whether the two packages had similar wrapping or markings, or whether the case is connected to other investigations under way in the Cyclades. Any further information is expected to emerge from the course of the preliminary investigation and from the result of the laboratory examination, which will also determine the legal classification of the case.