In Brief
OLYMPIC SECURITY
Alarm over biscuits, aftershave A «suspect suitcase» which arrived at the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) in Maroussi on Saturday night caused a stir until security officials found that it contained only a packet of biscuits. The suitcase had been sent to the IBC by coach as an unaccompanied package. Scanning equipment revealed a box that resembled an explosive device, according to officials. Also on Saturday, access to the Olympic Media Village at Thrakomakedones, north of Athens, was temporarily blocked after a bottle of aftershave in a journalist’s bag aroused the suspicions of security officials, The Associated Press reported yesterday. Migrants detained Greek authorities said they detained a total of 51 illegal immigrants on Saturday. Coast guard officials on Chios said they detained 30 illegal immigrants and a Turkish suspected smuggler early on Saturday morning. The would-be migrants, who were of several nationalities, were picked up on three parts of the island. Also on Saturday, police near the Turkish border arrested 21 illegal immigrants – mostly Iraqis – and their suspected smuggler, an unidentified Greek national. The migrants had crossed the Evros River before entering Greece where they had been packed into a caravan and were heading for Athens, according to police. Road collisions There were two tram accidents in the Athenian district of Neos Cosmos on Saturday, just after 1 p.m. and at 5 p.m. In both collisions – which were on two different junctions on Baknana Street – the tram collided with a passenger car. There were no injuries, but the vehicles involved were damaged. Also on Saturday, an officially accredited Athens 2004 bus, which was not carrying any passengers, crashed into a car at the Kymi junction on the Athens-Lamia national road. There were no injuries but both vehicles sustained some damage. Ferry problem A passenger ferry, which suffered engine problems about 50 nautical miles (around 90 kilometers) from the Italian port of Bari, continued its course toward the northwestern port of Igoumenitsa with nearly a thousand passengers aboard, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday. The Sophocles Venizelos suffered a malfunction in its left engine but crew members were assigned to repair it and the ferry continued its scheduled course to Corfu and Patras, the ministry said. The ferry was carrying 976 passengers, 201 cars, 71 trucks and two buses, it added. Robber thwarted Police in Thessaloniki early yesterday morning arrested a man who had been trying to steal an ATM machine from a bank in the city’s Evosmo suburb using a forklift truck. The man, who was not identified, told police he was a drug addict. Last month, Thessaloniki police arrested three Gypsies who allegedly used stolen machinery and vehicles to remove five ATMs from different parts of Thessaloniki. They have been seeking another two Gypsies believed to have helped lift ATMs from gas stations or hypermarkets in remote areas or during bad weather when fewer people were around.
