In Brief
COSTAS KARELIAS
VP of largest Greek cigarette firm found dead next to yacht Costas Karelias, the vice president of the Karelia Tobacco Company, Greece’s largest cigarette manufacturer, was yesterday found drowned next to his yacht, which was moored at a marina in the Peloponnesian port of Kalamata. Police said employees at the marina discovered the 65-year-old’s body in the early hours. Officers were awaiting the results of an autopsy and forensic tests on Karelias’s boat and car, which was parked next to the marina, before commenting on the cause of death. RAID OF BEAUTY Hondos heist nets thousands Robbers who raided a Hondos Center cosmetics store in Kallithea, southern Athens, on Tuesday night are believed to have made off with more than 100,000 euros. Police said yesterday that two armed robbers entered the store via the roof of the neighboring apartment block after it had closed. They went to the accounting department on the fourth floor and threatened staff with Kalashnikov assault rifles. Police said the robbers escaped via the roof, where they left behind some tools used in the break-in. Swine flu A 69-year-old man yesterday became the 59th person in Greece to die after contracting swine flu. Officials said the patient had been suffering from chronic kidney problems as well. Authorities also revealed that just 3,047 people were inoculated against the H1N1 virus on Tuesday. Burns victim A 40-year-old man injured in a blast at an olive oil processing plant on Crete on Sunday died yesterday. Doctors at Athens’s KAT hospital said Giorgos Hasourakis, a father of two, suffered third-degree burns to 90 percent of his body in the accident. Kidnapping trial Four main suspects and seven alleged accomplices are to stand trial in connection to the abduction of businessman Giorgos Mylonas in Thessaloniki in June 2008, according to a ruling by a council of appeals court judges in the northern city. One of the main suspects is Vassilis Palaiocostas, the fugitive who has been on the run since he escaped from Korydallos Prison in February. The three men accused of helping Palaiocostas carry out the Mylonas abduction are in custody. The accused are to face seven felony charges and 17 misdemeanor charges. Mylonas was held for 15 days by his kidnappers, who released him when a ransom of almost 11 million euros was paid. Car vandal An 18-year-old man was arrested late on Tuesday on suspicion of being part of a group that caused damage to nine parked cars in the Evosmos neighborhood of Thessaloniki on Monday. The cars were parked near a soccer supporters’ club and police believe the vandalism, which resulted in the cars’ windshields being smashed, may have been linked to fan rivalry.
