Police dismantle major armed robbery ring
Police in Attica said on Tuesday that they had detained five suspected members of a violent criminal ring believed to have used Kalashnikov assault rifles and other heavy weaponry to carry out at least 49 armed raids on jewelry stores, supermarkets and homes as well as muggings over the past year.
The ring members — one Greek and four Albanians, all aged between 23 and 30 — were traced following several months of police investigation following the arrest of another suspected member of the ring last October — a 25-year-old Albanian.
In raids on two suspected hideouts — in Haidari and Patissia, west and north of the center of Athens — police turned up four Kalashnikovs, three revolvers, three pistols 1,000 rounds of ammunition, six hand grenades, explosives and four bulletproof vests.
Ring members are alleged to have used Kalashnikovs and other weapons to threaten their victims and opened fire on two occasions, injuring two people.
