Cyclades’ fish saved by a tip-off

An anonymous tip-off led to the discovery of a truckload of explosives on a passenger ferry bound for the Aegean island of Anafi yesterday morning. Police arrested Zacharias Papadopoulos at the island of Ios. He had boarded the passenger ferry Lemnos with his truck on the island of Folegandros, on his way to Anafi. Papadopoulos claimed he wanted the dynamite and slow-burning fuses to use in construction, for breaking up the foundations of buildings. However, he had not declared the material with the port authorities as required. Police said they had received a tip that a large amount of explosives was destined for use in illegal fishing. The illegal cargo consisted of 25 kilos of explosive material, over 300 sticks of dynamite and 500 meters of fuse, reportedly enough to destroy every living thing in the waters of the western Cyclades. Papadopoulos was to appear before the investigating magistrate on the island of Naxos yesterday.