From: Eurobsit
A routine check of a mystery ship undertaken by the crew of patrol boat “603” of the Hellenic Coast Guard off the island of Syros was the catalyst that brought to light a murky case involving the smuggling of 25 million cigarettes in the southeast Mediterranean.
“On the 28th of March 2018, and at about 10.30am, in the context of a regular patrol, we sighted, traveling at minimal speed and with its Automatic Identification System deactivated, the cargo ship Daslis sailing under a Togolese flag. According to a statement by its captain, the ship had set sail from Beirut with Odessa as its destination and was carrying a cargo of cigarettes. It appeared to be in a poor state and was traveling at minimal speed. We considered it suspicious given that it was not following the proper course and we informed the Syros Port Authority about the incident.”
At the beginning, it was just a routine check by the Hellenic Coast Guard. But it quickly brought to light an important cigarette smuggling case and a criminal network operating in the southeast Mediterranean. Indeed, the smuggling ship Daslis was not unknown to the Greek authorities. In November 2015, sailing under a Tanzanian flag and with the name Rosetta, it had been spotted transferring crates of illicit cigarettes to a small fishing vessel near Crete’s southern coast of Siteia. In that case, 13 people were arrested and convicted in the first instance, receiving sentences of up to 12 years of imprisonment.
