Greek pills find way to French drug markets

Millions of Greek epilepsy pills have found their way to France, where they are consumed as a heroin substitute, according to Greece's police.

A young Algerian national who bought the pills from a pharmacy in the downtown Athens neighborhood of Patissia was arrested on November 18. The arrest caps nearly two years of investigation, which began in January 2023 when French authorities alerted their Greek counterparts about the pills on sale.

The pills, marketed under the name Brieka, are easy to prescribe and cost less than a third of their counterparts in France: they sell for 20 euros per 30-pill box in Greece compared to €70 in France. Also, the pill form of the main ingredient, pregabalin, is much easier to consume than the powder or the injectable form used elsewhere.

The Algerian, Mohamed F., is said to have sent 55 shipments of pills, in large boxes,...