Santorini: two arrests during drug transaction

Two Greek nationals, aged 26 and 32, were arrested in Santorini on Monday 10 August evening by officers of the Thira Police Subdivision. According to police announcement, the men were caught at a pre-arranged meeting point where, as stated, the younger purchased narcotics from the older.

Police watching the location intervened immediately after the exchange, in order to document the transaction. The timing of the intervention matters in such cases, as possession alone is treated differently from proven acts of supplying substance to a third party. Officers had been notified of the meeting and had taken position at the location beforehand.

The 26-year-old was immobilized as he was leaving the scene. In the search that followed, approximately two grams of cocaine and 32.5 grams of raw cannabis were found on him. According to reports, he did not resist during police intervention and was taken to the police station. The quantities found on him correspond, according to case data, to those just obtained during the transaction.

Different was the course with the 32-year-old, who according to reports attempted to escape using violence against officers. After being immobilized, a search of him and his residence found 56.5 grams of raw cannabis, a knife with a five-centimeter blade, precision scales and 205 euros in cash. Knife possession is what adds to the case and charge of weapon possession, regardless of charges relating to narcotic substances.

A total of 89 grams of cannabis, quantity of cocaine, the money, the knife and a two-wheeled motorcycle were seized. The report notes a discrepancy in the reported quantity of cocaine between parts of the text, so the exact number will emerge from laboratory examination of the seized.

Charges attributed to each of the two men in turn include possession and trafficking of narcotics, weapon possession, assault of officers and disobedience. The arrested men were taken to the Prosecutor of the District Court of Naxos, to which Thira is judicially subject. The presumption of innocence applies until the issuance of an irrevocable judicial decision, while the pre-investigation to fully explore the case continues by the competent service on the island.

Santorini is at the height of the tourist season and police services on the island have intensified controls, both in entertainment venues and on roads. Days earlier the island was marked by a stabbing of a 25-year-old in a clash over drugs, while similar operations are recorded across the Cyclades, as shown by arrests on six islands.