Greek ship owner and soccer club owner Vangelis Marinakis says drug-trafficking charges against him are part of a government-led "conspiracy" to silence dissent. Marinakis, who is also a media owner, accuses the government of targeting him through friendly media, putting pressure on convicts to testify against him and accuses Greek judges of doing the government's bidding. The charges stem from the 2014 seizure in the Greek port of Piraeus of a tanker carrying 2.1 tons of heroin. Marinakis has been implicated by, among others, a businessman in whose house police seized 30 million euros ($37 million) worth of heroin and who now is serving life in prison. Marinakis owns the Greek soccer club Olympiakos and the English club Nottingham Forest.

Source: ABC News March 24, 2018 15:16 UTC