A well-known Italian anarchist and a Greek man have been arrested in Trikala, central Greece, on suspicion of carrying out an armed robbery at a local bank.

Police sources named the men as Alfredo Bonanno, 72, and Christos Stratigopoulos, 46. Bonanno has served 18 months in jail for his 1998 essay called “Anarchist Tension” and was also given a six-year term in 2003 for armed robbery and other crimes when he was found to be the ideological leader of an armed group.

According to police, Stratigopoulos carried out the robbery at a branch of Piraeus bank on Thursday. He forced employees to hand over 46,900 euros, which he then apparently handed to Bonanno, who was waiting outside in a rented car. A witness noted the license plate of the vehicle and informed the police, who stopped the car on a road leading to Kalambaka. Officers found the stolen cash in the vehicle. Stratigopoulos was arrested in Kalabaka.