Four British men said to be part of a major organised crime group responsible for more than 10 per cent of cocaine shipped into Europe have gone on trial in Greece, MailOnline can exclusively reveal.
The men – who can be named for the first time following the start of the case – were held in June 2022 after a dramatic raid by armed officers in scenes straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster.
No other British media was in court for the proceedings which began after a lengthy year-long undercover operation involving officers from the US Drugs Enforcement Agency as well as Greek and Italian police.
The four men – three of whom were brought under heavy security from Thessaloniki jail where they have been on remand - were named in court as Neil Jones, 46, Anthony Bennett, 49, John Ellis, 39, and Stephen Wray, 52, and all are from Liverpool.
A fifth man – Ryan Ellis – also from Liverpool, is charged along with them, with drug trafficking and is currently in jail in Holland where Dutch authorities have refused to hand him over because of 'conditions in Greek jails', it emerged.
In a dramatic development prosecutor Alexandra Xoleva explained Wray had been rushed to hospital just hours before the start of the trial suffering from severe abdominal pains and was not expected to be discharged for several days.
The three men who did appear were led handcuffed from a prison van – which had arrived with an armed police escort - into the building, and taken to the third-floor courtroom where proceedings lasted all day.
Greek authorities say the arrest of the four men sparked a global manhunt for the ringleader of the gang, who has been dubbed a 'British Pablo Escobar' as he is the link between the Colombian cartels and a vast European network of traffickers.
Footage released in June last year showed heavily armed officers raiding a luxury £1,700 a month villa 20 miles from Thessaloniki which was being used as a base for the men.
They were held after 297kg of cocaine was found in a consignment of bananas that had arrived in the Greek port city last summer said to be worth £42 million.
During the operation, one of the British men tried to overpower a Greek officer and snatch his gun but was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed.
Police said along with the drugs, which had been divided into 260 packages, a pistol loaded with nine rounds, a box of 41 cartridges, 1,000 Euros in cash, 11 mobile phones and portable radios were also seized in the bust.
Following the raid, Greek police said two of those arrested were 'leaders of an international drug trafficking ring' while a fifth person was wanted in connection with the seizure.
Officials said the men were linked to another consignment – just under 700kg- which was again found in a cargo of bananas that had come from South America via the Italian port of Gioia Tauro.
Defence sources say the men – who did not enter a plea – were victims of 'police entrapment' and have said their clients' human rights have been abused while in custody awaiting trial.
An Italian police source told MailOnline:'In total last year five tonnes of cocaine was seized on the route Ecuador, Gioia Tauro (Italy), Thessaloniki and we believe these men are part of the much wider operation.
'The cocaine was intended for markets in Europe and Australia and the investigation is continuing and involves officers from the DEA, as well as Italian and Greek police.'
The case has been adjourned until next month.
