ATHENS - A Greek appeals court on Friday reduced the prison sentences of 11 men involved in trafficking 1.2 metric tons of cocaine from the Caribbean into Europe and Africa, in one of the biggest drug busts in Greece's history.

Greek police said in 2020 it had dismantled the criminal group after a months-long investigation with assistance from the United States' Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Albanian and Spanish police.

A court in 2021 had handed the defendants, nationals of Albania, the Netherlands and Greece, multi-year sentences including life imprisonment. On Friday, the court set the highest sentence at 16 years.

According to court documents, the drugs were loaded at sea, near Saint Vincent in the Caribbean, on a yacht named "Barracuda Seven" which sailed to Greece.

Two undercover agents from the Greek anti-narcotics authorities infiltrated the gang and later boarded the vessel, taking control of the operations and setting a new meeting point in Greece, according to court testimony.

The drugs were finally transferred to Greece by air, as the gang leaders were led to believe that the journey continued as normal. The arrests followed.

Dozens of travel bags with cocaine packages were confiscated by police from an apartment in the western town of Astakos in January 2020.

The suspected leaders of the group, among them a man nicknamed "Doctor" or "Aqua Verde", were living in Spain at the time of the arrests and remain at large.

Lawyer Dimitris Georgakopoulos, representing the defendants, said the ruling was positive but added that his clients would take the case to the top court, citing police infiltration.

"The court of appeal has vindicated us to a great extent, he said. "But the legal issues of this complex file case have not been solved. The case will be taken to the top court."

South American production of cocaine has surged over the past decade and Europe has turned into the world’s biggest market for the drug. REUTERS