ATHENS – The Hellenic Police on Tuesday held a press conference to present the findings of an investigation that led to the discovery of three giant cannabis plantations hidden in a remote region of Mount Olympus and the arrest of two foreign nationals, aged 31 and 47 years old, respectively.

The illegal cannabis plantations, where more than 5,052 individual plants were found, were located on September 15 in Ano Skotina, in the Dion-Olympus municipality of Pieria.

The two men placed under arrest are accused of cultivating the plants and violating drugs laws. They were taken before a Katerini public prosecutor and referred to an examining magistrate.

In addition to using irrigation and fertilizers to grow the plants in a hard-to-spot location, the outfit also had an area for drying the plants for transport and distribution, makeshift living areas and other implements.

The police investigation that led to their discovery was initiated following a tip-off that an outfit was growing drugs on Mount Olympus, while the police operation involved roughly 120 officers who had to walk for 2.5 hours to reach the plantations.

The total harvest was estimated at 11 tonnes, with a street value of 30-40 million euros.

The illegal drugs were flown out with the assistance of fire brigade aircraft.