Terrorists believed to have netted some 10 mln euros from armed heists
Guerrilla organizations in Greece have amassed an estimated 10 million euros over the years, chiefly through armed robberies that finance their activities, according to police sources who say these reserves are more than adequate to supply members of the various groups with guns and explosives.
According to police, Nikos Maziotis, the convicted leader of Revolutionary Struggle who has been unaccounted for since the summer of 2012, is believed to have participated in at least five armed bank raids that netted more than 1.5 million euros for his organization. Revolutionary Struggle was thought to have been dismantled following several arrests and convictions of suspected members including Maziotis and his girlfriend Panagiota Roupa. But fears have resurged of Maziotis’s possible involvement in attacks claimed by new organizations over the past two years.
Greece’s deadliest terrorist group, November 17, which was disbanded in 2002, also financed its activities through bank robberies.
Police believe that members of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire also participated in armed raids on banks. Convicted members of that group met on a regular basis at Attica’s Korydallos Prison with N17’s Christodoulos Xeros who has been at large since absconding during a furlough earlier this month.
Supreme Court prosecutor Efterpi Koutzamani is to decide this week on the fate of two fellow prosecutors who sat on the judicial council that approved seven furloughs for Xeros who was was serving multiple life terms.
As fears mount of a possible high-level terrorist attack, authorities are expected to seek access to the bank accounts of individuals believed to have helped finance the activities of the country’s guerrilla groups.
Vassilis Paleocostas, the serial robber best known for two dramatic helicopter escapes from Korydallos Prison, is believed to have helped fund guerrilla organizations, Kathimerini understands.
