Greece is a major transshipment route to Western Europe for heroin from Turkey, hashish from the Middle East, and heroin, Ecstasy, and marijuana from South Asia. A small portion also goes on to the US, including Turkish heroin that is traded for Latin American cocaine. Hashish is off-loaded in remote areas of the country and transported to Western Europe by boat or overland. Such trucks typically enter Greece via Turkish border crossings, then cross the Adriatic by ferry to Italy. Nigerian drug organizations smuggle heroin and cocaine through the Athens airport, and increasingly through the Aegean Islands, from Turkey.
Greek authorities report increasing cocaine shipments from Colombia to Greece.
Demand Reduction . It develops and administers information and prevention programs, runs treatment centers for substance abusers, and coordinates with other agencies involved in narcotics treatment and prevention. US Policy Initiatives and Programs DEA hosts monthly coordination meetings attended by representatives of the Greek Coast Guard, the National Police, Customs, SDOE, Interpol, and drug liaison officers from foreign embassies. USIS regularly distributes literature on drug prevention, and periodically arranges background briefings with DEA officers for local journalists. USIS arranged for three representatives of Greek counternarcotics NGOs to attend a December conference in Nicosia.