Eight suspects, including three Orthodox sect “priests”, accused of trafficking cocaine and raw cannabis in Attica and Rhodes, appeared before an investigating judge in Athens on Monday.

The alleged leader, a 52-year-old woman, along with two other defendants, was given until Wednesday to testify before the court.

According to the case file, the three unregistered clerics belong to the Old Calendarist Orthodox sect, an ultra-conservative offshoot of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece.

Police say the men, acting as part of a large drug trafficking ring, stored cocaine and cannabis inside a church in Liosia, northwestern Athens, before distributing the drugs. Investigators also link the suspects to other criminal activities, including the illegal transport of migrants.

priests church

Eight suspects, including three Orthodox priests, accused of trafficking cocaine and raw cannabis in Attica and Rhodes, appeared before an investigating judge in Athens on Tuesday. Photo: Sotiris Dimitropoulos/Eurokinissi

During raids this week, officers from the Greek Drug Enforcement Agency seized 2.238 kilograms of cocaine and 9.092 kilograms of raw cannabis. The operation followed a six-month investigation. The ring members allegedly used code words during their transactions, referring to cocaine as “keraki” (candle), hashish as “kafedaki” (coffee), and raw cannabis as “fanouropita” (cake).

Police also revealed that the network operated a second branch which cultivated a cannabis plantation in Fthiotida, Central Greece, while a 33-year-old private employee was arrested in Galatsi in connection with the case.

One of the suspects, a 46-year-old who reportedly styles himself as the “Archbishop of Athens and All Greece of the Old Calendarists”, was allegedly a drug courier and trafficker. A popular YouTuber with more than 200,000 followers, he had also worked as a model, a role that reportedly led to his demotion from the Church of Greece.

According to local media reports, the priest’s mother had been living inside the church. A prosecutor issued an eviction notice on Tuesday.