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Cocaine ship seized/Who is the 'Greek Escobar', also involved in cigarette smuggling with Albania
2025-12-15 14:10:58 / AKTUALITET
The life and activities of the so-called "Greek Escobar", Alexandros Angelopoulos, who was arrested today for trafficking a large amount of cocaine, could very well be the subject of an action film.
And the story would have all the necessary Hollywood "cards": from his beginnings as a doorman at Syngrou's big clubs, his transition to ship smuggling and the creation of a small fleet that trafficked weapons to the Sandinistas and returned loaded with drugs, to designer fashion companies, stock exchanges, the purchase of a football team, dizzying gambling profits and a stormy love affair with the owner of a brothel in Antwerp.
Known as "Alekos" or "Fat" (the fat one), he began his criminal activity early on, also directly linked to Albania. According to records , he initially worked as a sailor on old ships that transported smuggled cigarettes from Albania to Italy, a well-known smuggling route in the 1990s.
These movements through Albania are considered the first steps in his involvement in international organized crime networks, before moving to Belgium and then becoming involved in large-scale arms and drug trafficking. His criminal activity expanded significantly, moving from cigarette smuggling to arms trafficking and later to international cocaine trafficking, with routes stretching from Latin America to Europe.
Greek and international authorities emphasize that the use of Balkan routes, including Albania, was part of the early phase of building his criminal empire, which would later turn him into what the media dubbed the "Greek Escobar."
How did Alexandros Angelopoulos build an international drug empire?
“Alekos”, or Alexandros Angelopoulos, widely known by the media as the “Greek Escobar”, was one of the most powerful figures in the drug trade in Greece and Europe. Born in Neoi Pori, Pieria, he was the son of a policeman, a fact that for many years allowed him to move without easily falling into the eyes of the authorities. His beginnings were both modest and illegal, as a night watchman in clubs and later as a sailor on smuggling ships.
In the first phase of his criminal activity, Angelopoulos was involved in cigarette smuggling, using sea routes connecting Albania with Italy. These routes were used as a practical school for the underworld, where he established contacts with Balkan and international networks. Over time, his activity expanded to arms trafficking and then to hard narcotics, mainly cocaine.
He later settled in Antwerp, Belgium, where he strengthened his financial and social position, building a dual profile: on the one hand a businessman with interests in fashion companies, sports betting and football, and on the other hand the head of a sophisticated criminal network. According to authorities, he collaborated with Colombian cartels and used fishing boats to transport tons of cocaine to Europe.
The peak of his activity came in the early 2000s, when he was accused of several large cocaine shipments and money laundering worth tens of millions of euros. Although he was initially sentenced to life imprisonment, his sentence was later reduced, before he was returned to prison. His story remains one of the most sensational cases of Greek organized crime, showing how an international drug empire was built.
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