In Brief
LOTTERY SCAM
Consumers warned to avoid bogus Coca-Cola cash draw pledge The general secretary for consumer affairs, Thanassis Skordas, yesterday warned people to be aware of a scam involving an alleged lottery by soft drinks manufacturer Coca-Cola in Spain. Skordas said that some 50 people called his office to say they received a letter claiming they had won money in the draw. The letter asked them to reply by giving their bank account details or paying a deposit to guarantee that the winnings would reach them. Skordas said that such a lottery does not exist and that fraudsters use the scheme to steal money from people’s bank accounts or to keep the deposits sent. CRETAN HEIST Forensic evidence from bulldozer raid ‘does not incriminate’ 8 suspects Evidence gathered from the scene of a daring bank heist in the Cretan prefecture of Hania in September does not incriminate eight people who have already been charged in connection with the raid, sources have told Kathimerini. Fingerprints lifted from the scene of the robbery in the village of Kalives, where a bulldozer was used to smash down the entrance to a bank, do not match any of those of the eight suspects, the sources said. Also an analysis of the mobile phone calls made by the eight individuals after the time of the robbery does not indicate any collaboration. FATAL COLLISION Motorcyclist crashes into police car A 42-year-old man was killed on Patission Street in central Athens early yesterday when the bike he was riding on crashed into a police car, authorities said. The driver of the motorcycle, who was seriously injured, ran a red light and crashed into the car, according to witnesses. One of the two police officers in the patrol car was slightly injured. Migrants intercepted Coast guard officers were yesterday seeking two smugglers believed to have dumped 79 illegal immigrants on the island of Agathonisi in the Dodecanese. The smugglers, thought to be Turks, had brought the 36 men, 36 women and seven children over from nearby Turkey and had been due to take them on to Patmos, officials said. A special coast guard unit has been dispatched to trace the smugglers. Food checks The Athens Prefecture confiscated 4.6 tons of food unfit for consumption in the last six weeks, it said yesterday. Twenty of the food companies, including supermarkets and butchers, found to be in possession of the bad food have been referred to a public prosecutor. Meanwhile, the Piraeus Prefecture seized and destroyed some 11 tons of seafood from the fish market, which inspectors deemed to be unfit for consumption. Trams collide Two trams were damaged early yesterday when they crashed into each other in Palaio Faliron in southern Athens. The accident happened at 8.20 a.m. at the junction of Achilleos Street and Poseidonos Avenue. None of the passengers was injured but traffic in the area had to be stopped for half an hour as officials inspected the damage. It is thought that driver error was to blame for the crash. Mock earthquake Greece and Turkey yesterday started an exercise in Ankara preparing for joint action in the event of natural disasters. The test operation, scheduled to run through Friday, involves a mock 7.7 Richter earthquake hitting the Turkish capital. Embassy closed The US Embassy in Athens, including the Consular Section, the US Consulate General in Thessaloniki and all US government offices in Greece, will be closed on Friday in observance of Veterans Day, a US national holiday. Lawyers strike Lawyers will not attend trials at the Supreme Court on November 20 because of a dispute with the Supreme Court president, Romylos Kedikoglou, over the transfers of court staff, Greece’s bar associations decided yesterday. Cherokee recall Chrysler Jeep Dodge Hellas is recalling two models of its vehicles, the car dealer said yesterday. The vehicles being recalled are the KJ version of Jeep Cherokee which were manufactured before March 15 this year and the WJ and WG versions of the Grand Cherokee manufactured after September 10, 2002 and January 24, 2003 respectively.
