Robbers pose as cops in central Athens scam
A man was arrested in central Athens yesterday on suspicion of having posed as a plain-clothes police officer to rob a young woman and raid her bank account. Bystanders helped a real, uniformed policeman catch the suspect – who was only identified as a 27-year-old Greek – on Pireos Street, near Karaiskaki Square, after the 23-year-old woman called for help. A second suspect managed to evade arrest. The two men approached their victim at a bus stop on Zinonos Street, near Pireos, introduced themselves as CID officers and asked to inspect her bag. Having removed 30 euros, a mobile phone, and four credit and cash cards, they instructed her to follow them to an ATM on Pireos, and withdrew 380 euros from the woman’s account – after threatening her with violence. Police are investigating whether the two have used the same trick on other victims.
