Briton wanted over drugs haul arrested in Athens pub

Police discovered more than £2m cash and drugs worth millions at a Fulham property in November

A British man wanted in connection with the seizure of millions of pounds worth of drugs was arrested as he settled in to watch the British and Irish Lions' rugby triumph against Australia at a pub in Greece.

Kevin Hanley, 50, was at the pub in Athens when Greek and British officers captured him in a sting operation on Saturday.

He had evaded police since November when officers discovered more than £2 million cash and millions of pounds worth of drugs at a property in Fulham, London.

Officers from Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and Greek police arrested Hanley on a European warrant for money laundering and conspiracy to supply cocaine, cannabis and amphetamine.

Extradition proceedings are under way.

Greek police said Hanley had taken "extensive precautions" to avoid arrest, with "frequent changes of address, telephones and cars" - using several dual-sim mobile phones and coded text messages.

Greek national Chryssi Minadakis, 44, who was living in Fulham at the time of the drugs seizure in November, was also arrested on Saturday.

Brendan Foreman, regional head of investigations at Soca, said: "These arrests were a direct result of our close co-operation with the Greek authorities.

"Operations like this remind the public that Soca and its partners will stop at nothing to take down those suspected of being involved in drug trafficking."

In the seizure, police found 44.1lb of cocaine, 33.1lb of cannabis and 33.1lb of amphetamine, as well as £2.1 million in cash.

Five other suspects - four men and one woman - from London, Liverpool, Glasgow and Gloucestershire, have also been arrested in Britain in connection with the operation.

PA