In Brief
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Group of 69 migrants picked up by coast guard in stormy seas off Hydra The coast guard detained 69 illegal immigrants on Saturday, the Merchant Marine Ministry said, after the boat in which they were traveling was found adrift in rough seas off the island of Hydra, south of Athens. The boat was towed to the town of Porto Heli in the Peloponnese. The nationality of the illegal immigrants was not released. BAD BREAD Food chains slammed over quality The Bakers Association of Greece has accused the country’s food chains of selling what they have labeled «fresh bread» from imported frozen dough which is often of poor quality. The president of the association, Michalis Mousios, said yesterday that the frozen dough is imported from Morocco, China, Bulgaria or Poland. There are also reported incidents where the dough used is more than five months old, added Mousios. Gang busted Police appear to have broken up a 10-member gang of burglars that operated mostly in the Mesogeia area, eastern Attica, and are accused of stealing more than 200,000 euros. The gang is wanted in connection to 12 counts of armed robbery, 21 incidents of breaking into homes and 10 car thefts, police said. Two members of the gang have been arrested while police have tipped off Interpol about the remaining eight in the event that they have left the country. All of the accused are Albanian nationals. Shootout Police were investigating a shootout which took place in Kallithea, southern Athens, on Saturday that left two Albanian men with injuries. Police said that one man suffered an arm and shoulder injury, while the second man, who managed to get himself to a private health clinic, had a chest wound. The two men told police that they were attacked in the gunfight in what authorities described as being a settlement of personal differences. Mother killed A 36-year-old man, a resident at a psychiatric clinic in Athens, killed his mother on Saturday after he pushed her out of the window of a second-floor wing of the building. Police said the 58-year-old woman was fatally wounded when her son suddenly pushed her out the window while she was speaking to him. Burglar confesses A 22-year-old man was arrested on Saturday in Kaisariani, eastern Athens, after police identified the vehicle he was driving as stolen. After being questioned by police, the man confessed to having stolen four cars and committed 20 counts of burglary since the start of the year. The man would mainly break into apartments in the southeastern districts of the city, police said. Cretan jails Two new jails are to be built in Hania, Crete, over the next two years, a senior Justice Ministry official said yesterday. Panayiotis Panouris, the Justice Ministry general secretary, said the construction of the new prisons is proceeding at a satisfactory pace and should be completed in the next 18 to 24 months.
