Greek police say they have dismantled an international drug trafficking gang that smuggled cocaine from Bolivia to Greece concealed in "sheets of salted leather", Reuters reports.

The case highlights a shift in smuggling methods used to move drugs from South America to Europe, according to officials. 

The police, who were acting on a tip-off from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, arrested eleven suspects, including Bolivian and Spanish nationals. 

Investigators say the gang operated a laboratory in Athens to extract the cocaine from the salted hides.

Share this story: