NEWS

In Brief

DEJA VU

Convict on the run from Crete jail caught tapping ATMs A 29-year-old Romanian man who escaped from Alikarnassos Prison on Crete in 2009 while on a six-day furlough, was arrested by police in Athens yesterday. The man, who was not named by authorities, is suspected of rigging ATM machines with a data-transfer device and obtaining bank customers’ card and PIN numbers. Police found 39 blank cards on him, 27 of which were already loaded with data, as well as electronic equipment. He was arrested in the southern Athenian suburb of Voula yesterday and will be facing charges of participation in organized crime and forgery, the same charges for which he was serving a 10-year sentence. CREEPY LUGGAGE Tourists caught with 6 skulls Two young American tourists were facing charges of desecrating the dead yesterday after they were stopped at Athens International Airport with six human skulls in their hand luggage, a police official told Reuters. The pair, who have not been named, told authorities they had purchased the skulls from a souvenir shop on the island of Myconos, believing them to be fake, the official said. A coroner confirmed the skulls to be human. The suspects have been released pending trial. Family foes Two brothers wanted on charges of armed assault in Iraklio, Crete, turned themselves in to local authorities yesterday. The two unnamed men were allegedly part of a group of five who opened fire on a vehicle on the Iraklio-Mires highway in late August, seriously injuring the 54-year-old driver and his son, both relatives of the assailants. Two other men, who were arrested on Saturday in connection to the same incident, were to face a prosecutor yesterday. A fifth man was arrested the day after the incident but was released after making his deposition. Off AIR Athens International Radio went off the air yesterday after a prosecutor confiscated the station’s transmitter on the grounds that its license was not valid. The station is still broadcasting on the Internet at www.air1044fm.gr. A spokeswoman for the radio station said that the decision was politically motivated in view of local elections in November. AIR FM is operated by the City of Athens. Marijuana stash Narcotics squad officers arrested two Albanian men, aged 20 and 23, on drug-dealing charges in Nikaia, Piraeus, yesterday. Officers found the men to be in possession of large quantities of unprocessed marijuana, 2,930 euros in cash and notes detailing a number of drug-related transactions. Extra services The Athens metro, trams, buses and trolleys will be running more frequently tomorrow between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. in order to facilitate the public’s participation at events to be held at Syntagma Square and on Panepistimiou Street on the occasion of European Mobility Week, the Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) confirmed yesterday. The statement also added that commuters will be allowed to use public transportation all day long with just one ticket (1 euro regular; 50 cents for children, students and the elderly).

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