THESSALONIKI – With the agreement of the examining magistrate and public prosecutor handling the case, the eight individuals arrested in connection with a 100-kilo shipment of cocaine intercepted by Greek authorities in northern Greece have been released without any conditions.

The decision was made in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after a marathon process that began at 8:00 on Tuesday.

The suspects included the owner of a fruit-trading company that took delivery of the drugs, hidden among a shipment of bananas from Ecuador, three company employees, a driver and three customs agents.

All the accused denied any knowledge of the case or the contents of the container with the drugs. According to sources, the company said the container was supposed to be picked up by another trader.

The shipment arrived at the port of Thessaloniki from Malta and the drugs were detected by trained sniffer dogs. It was then placed under surveillance and followed to the premises of the company situated outside Veria. Eight persons involved in its transfer were placed under arrest at the orders of a public prosecutor.