Two remanded in custody and one Corfu man released under restrictive conditions for Lefkimmi ATM blast
ATM
31 Aug 2021
/ 15:50
CORFU. The two Romanians and one Corfiot have been charged with a felony.
Two Romanians, aged 41 and 46, were remanded in custody and a Corfu man was released under restrictive conditions after being charged with blowing up an ATM in Lefkimmi on 15 August, which is considered a felony.
They were arrested in Lefkimmi 10 days later on 25 August when the police found that the Romanians had fake identity documents and the Corfiot was in possession of an axe.
According to the police, they then found evidence linking them to the ATM blast and the Romanians had also been involved in a robbery in Koroni, Messinia in 2011.
Two other Corfu men, aged 24 and 31, were arrested on Saturday 21 August for the manufacturing and possession of explosives, which is considered a misdemeanour, and have now been released.
According to the police statement, on Saturday night, an operation was conducted, during which an inflatable boat was found moored in a harbour northeast of Corfu, with four people on board. Two of the persons then disembarked and placed two pieces of hand baggage in the car of the 31-year-old arrested man, who was waiting for them at the spot.
In a search of the car, with the assistance of a police bomb disposal specialist, the two pieces of hand baggage, which were found and confiscated, included the following:
- 390 grams of gelatin dynamite
- Half a pound of standard military high explosive (TNT)
- 100 grams of TNT
- 250 grams of grated high explosive, possibly gelatin dynamite
- 2 plastic sheathings, inside of which was placed compressed high explosive, possibly gelatin dynamite, in the shape of a “tile”, used for ATM explosions
- 4 nylon packages containing 4 pieces of fuse
- 2 common detonators
- 1 air pistol with a loader and bullets
- 1 smart car key
- 6 mobile phones
In the same area of Thesprotia, with the assistance of the Igoumenitsa Police, a car was found, which corresponded to the smart key, in which two bags with explosives were found and confiscated.
It turned out that the car had been stolen in 2011, following a robbery of its owner in a house in Kalamata. When found, it had fake plates of a vehicle of the same type, which is being used legally.
They were arrested in Lefkimmi 10 days later on 25 August when the police found that the Romanians had fake identity documents and the Corfiot was in possession of an axe.
According to the police, they then found evidence linking them to the ATM blast and the Romanians had also been involved in a robbery in Koroni, Messinia in 2011.
Two other Corfu men, aged 24 and 31, were arrested on Saturday 21 August for the manufacturing and possession of explosives, which is considered a misdemeanour, and have now been released.
According to the police statement, on Saturday night, an operation was conducted, during which an inflatable boat was found moored in a harbour northeast of Corfu, with four people on board. Two of the persons then disembarked and placed two pieces of hand baggage in the car of the 31-year-old arrested man, who was waiting for them at the spot.
In a search of the car, with the assistance of a police bomb disposal specialist, the two pieces of hand baggage, which were found and confiscated, included the following:
- 390 grams of gelatin dynamite
- Half a pound of standard military high explosive (TNT)
- 100 grams of TNT
- 250 grams of grated high explosive, possibly gelatin dynamite
- 2 plastic sheathings, inside of which was placed compressed high explosive, possibly gelatin dynamite, in the shape of a “tile”, used for ATM explosions
- 4 nylon packages containing 4 pieces of fuse
- 2 common detonators
- 1 air pistol with a loader and bullets
- 1 smart car key
- 6 mobile phones
From the police investigation evidence, it emerged that in the evening hours of Saturday, the two men – 34 and 24 years old rented an inflatable boat and went to Sivota, where they picked up the two Romanians and returned.
It turned out that the car had been stolen in 2011, following a robbery of its owner in a house in Kalamata. When found, it had fake plates of a vehicle of the same type, which is being used legally.
