Robbery suspect’s DNA linked to N17 convict’s hideout
The DNA of a man who was arrested in the northern Greek city of Katerini for robberies is identical to the one found in the former hideout of Christodoulos Xiros, a convicted member of November 17 terror group, a senior police official said Thursday.
In a press conference presenting the case, Regional Police Director of Central Macedonia, Miltiades Poursanidis, said the 33-year-old suspect’s DNA was identified on a handkerchief that contained 14 bullets, found in a house at the resort town of Anavysos, eastern Attica, in 2015.
Poursanidis said the suspect has not explained how his DNA ended up there and has denied ever being in the house.
Police has established that the suspect, along with two other now-detained accomplices, stole 52,000 euros from an ATM in Serres in 2017. They also tried to break into two other ATMs in areas of Serres and Pieria.
During their last robbery attempt, they fired against officers chasing them.
Police found 28 cartridges and a folding knife in the suspect’s house in Thessaloniki.
Christodoulos Xiros, who received six life sentences for his involvement in November 17, was found guilty in 2003 of taking part in 33 of the group’s attacks, including six murders.
In 2014, he went on the run, when he failed to return to Korydallos after being released on furlough. He was apprehended a year later after he was discovered hiding in a summer house in Anavysos.
