Greece arrests Algerian suspected of smuggling pain relief drug to France

Greek police arrested an Algerian man suspected of smuggling tablets of pain-fighting drug pregabalin to France from Greece, following an operation with French authorities and EU police agency Europol.

The 28-year-old obtained drugs containing pregabalin from pharmacies in Greece and shipped them to Paris and other French cities over the past three years, police said on Wednesday. The anti-seizure drug is used to treat epilepsy and anxiety and can cause relaxation and euphoria.

The man was arrested in Athens this week as he was trying to send a package of more than 3,300 of the tablets, a police statement said. At least 55 such drug shipments have been confirmed since 2021, a police official said.

French police also arrested a man alleged to be the receiver of the packages, the official added.

In March, the Greek coast guard confiscated a British-flagged boat loaded with nearly four million pregabalin tablets, after a tip-off from Greece's intelligence service about drug-smuggling rings operating in the country.