Cretan hunting dogs become the hunted
Cretans have gained a national reputation as sheep and goat rustlers thanks to the traditional exploits of a small but relentless minority. But some animal thieves have diversified into the far more lucrative activity of stealing hunting dogs and either selling them or returning them to their owners for a ransom, police said yesterday. Officers in the village of Arkalohori, Iraklion, recently cracked one such racket, following a claim by Nikolaos Krousaniotakis that his hunting dog, valued at 4,400 euros, had been stolen. A few days later he received an anonymous telephone call which told him to contact Yiannis Kambanakis if he wanted the dog back. Kambanakis demanded 880 euros, later raising this to 1,480 euros. Police arrested Kambanakis, 22, shortly after he was paid the ransom by Krousaniotakis. Kambanakis then provided information leading to the arrest of Giorgos Manasakis, 52. Officers are now looking for a certain «Koutsantonis» for alleged involvement in the gang. The dog’s fate was not reported. The rounds in the public sector are as sincere as the candidates’ overtures to the people. They are also as effective. When the inspectors are gone, everyday life restores its sour despotism.
