DNA reveals man behind cannabis plantation 16 years later

DNA taken by British police has revealed the identity of a man behind a plantation of almost 1,800 cannabis plants in Greece that was found 16 years ago.

In September 2008, a Greek police helicopter spotted the planation near the village of Monastiri in Messinia in the southwestern Peloponnese.

A man was seen fleeing the scene but police managed to collect cigarette butts from the plantation, which were sent for forensic analysis.

The case remained unsolved until British authorities arrested the 44-year-old man in April 2023 after finding 623 cannabis seedlings near Essex.

DNA samples taken from the man in the UK then matched the samples taken in Greece in 2008, which had been uploaded to an international police DNA database.

Police in Messinia subsequently sent their case file on the man, who is being held on remand, to their English counterparts...