DNA link to three suspects sought for Distomo raid

The fingerprints and DNA of three suspects being sought in connection with an audacious bank robbery in Distomo, in the prefecture of Viotia, in August have been found in an apartment in Nea Makri, northeast of Athens, which is believed to have been used as a hideout by the robbers, and on a speedboat the perpetrators used as part of their getaway, police said on Tuesday.

Police had released the photographs of Spyros Dravilas, 33, Giorgos Petrakakos, 35, and Spyros Chrystodoulou, 44, at the end of August, deeming that they were behind the raid at a National Bank branch in Distomo earlier that month.

In a statement on Thursday, police said the DNA and fingerprint tests had also linked the three suspects to a second apartment on Michail Voda Street in central Athens and to one of two stolen cars used in the robbers’ getaway.

During the raid on August 22 the robbers took a bank employee hostage but released him before continuing their escape by speedboat from the Corinthian Gulf and then switching to a second car.

Petrakakos has been linked to two other bank heists which the police have connected to Revolutionary Struggle leader Nikos Maziotis. He is also believed to have ties to fugitive robber Vassilis Palaiocostas.