In Brief
HEIST AT SEA
Security guard claims robbers stole 880,000 euros from him on ferry Robbers allegedly stole 880,000 euros in cash from a security guard on board a ferry traveling from the Cycladic island of Paros to Piraeus yesterday, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. Crew members of the Highspeed II ferry found the guard bound and gagged in one of the ship’s toilets when the vessel arrived in the port of Piraeus. He claimed to be working for a private security firm and alleged that at least two attackers bundled him into the toilet and stole the bag containing the cash. BOURBOULIA JUDGMENT Judges mulling whether to release ex-magistrate from custody A council of appeals court judges yesterday was considering whether to release former magistrate Constantina Bourboulia, who has been in custody since March. By law, suspects can only be held for six months without a ruling from appeals court judges allowing authorities to keep them in custody for longer. Bourboulia has been found guilty of mishandling a probe into stock manipulation on the Athens Stock Exchange and is currently awaiting trial in connection to an alleged trial-fixing ring. She told the judges yesterday that there was no evidence against her and asked to be released. A decision is due in the next few days. HIV SUFFERER Man charged with infecting others A 25-year-old HIV sufferer who allegedly attempted to infect women on Rhodes with the virus that can lead to AIDS was remanded in custody yesterday after appearing before a court on the island. The unnamed man is accused of having unprotected sex with young women while knowing that he was HIV positive. He has been charged with intentional bodily harm but denies the charges. Drug busts An amateur soccer player from Nigeria was arrested in central Athens yesterday after more than 10 kilos of cannabis was found in his possession, police said. The unnamed 31-year-old man was arrested in the neighborhood of Kypseli after officers found 12 packages containing the drug and more than 1,400 matchboxes which had been converted to carry narcotics. Meanwhile, police also arrested a 33-year-old Moroccan man and a 39-year-old woman in Omonia Square, central Athens, yesterday after finding 13 grams of heroin and 9,510 euros on them. Officers said the pair were going to buy drugs with the cash and then sell it to addicts. Migrant chase Four Albanian immigrants who were being smuggled into Greece spent five hours in the hospital in Ioannina, northwestern Greece, after the car in which they were traveling crashed into a wall after a high-speed chase. Border guards pursued the vehicle after it failed to stop at a checkpoint. The migrants were later discharged and taken back to Albania but the driver, also an Albanian, remained in the hospital overnight. Meanwhile, border guards caught up with a stolen truck in Thesprotia, northwestern Greece, yesterday after it drove through a checkpoint. The driver abandoned the vehicle but officers found 19 Albanian migrants inside. Honey money The Synaspismos Left Coalition party yesterday asked Agricultural Minister Evangelos Bassiakos if he would be providing any aid to beekeepers in Cassandra after a fire on the Halkidiki peninsula last month destroyed some 5,000 hectares of pine forest. More than 7,000 beehives were burned in the fire, depriving the beekeepers of some 280 tons of honey, according to the left-wing party. The beekeepers will now have to move their remaining bees to the island of Thasos, Synaspismos said. Forms stolen Unidentified robbers removed dozens of blank residence permit application forms for foreigners from municipal authority offices in Vari, southern Athens, police said yesterday. A total of 233 blank forms were taken from a filing cabinet by the thieves, who gained access to the building by breaking a window, officers said.
