In the hands of the police was a 28-year-old Syrian “virtuoso” pickpocket, who committed theft from passengers at the international airport Eleftherios Venizelos.
The man with a heavy criminal record who has been in and out of prisons has also previously been seen smuggling migrants as a skipper.
Arrest
As stated in the police report: “On 04/16/2022 at 20:45 a foreigner (according to his application), a citizen of Syria, was detained by police officers on charges of violating Article 372 of the Criminal Code in combination with Articles 42 and 98 of the Criminal Code – “regularly committed thefts and theft attempts.
In particular, at 14:30 on 16-04-2022, an employee of TUI HELLAS reported a theft against her that occurred between 14:00 and 14:20 near terminal 5 of the arrivals hall of Athens International Airport. An unknown person quietly took away her backpack, which the citizen put on a transport trolley, and in which there were: a wallet with an amount of up to 100 euros, 4 bank cards, a SAMSUNG A32 mobile phone, a portable laptop (APPLE Ipad), various documents, a leather handbag, as well as keys from her house and car.
In reviewing video footage from the closed-loop surveillance of the Athens International Airport, it was found that the above act was committed at 14:04:35 by the defendant, who arrived by bus at the airport at 14:00. With a quick step, he went to the arrivals area and, near gate 5, stole the backpack of the above-mentioned citizen, and immediately got into the bus, on which he disappeared.
After examining the video material received, the police revealed the following: “The above-mentioned citizen was identified by police officers as a person involved in the theft of passenger luggage from Athens International Airport on 01/10/2022, 04/09/2022 and 04/10/2022.
A professional, feeling invulnerable, acts very quickly: having committed a theft, he instantly retreats from the scene of the crime.
The pickpocket first “scans the area” to find the victim, and prepares in advance so that the action is not noticed. The recidivist often changes his appearance to make it difficult to find him. As it was established, he commits thefts in both sports and casual clothes. In addition, the thief takes care to throw away backpacks and bags stolen by him during the return (from the airport) route. Then the offender sells the “booty” to his accomplices on Omonia and Monastiraki Square (which was also established on 04/11/2022).
As a result, the arrested person, with a case initiated against him, was taken to the Prosecutor’s Office of Athens on April 17, 2022.
Mr. Ilias Vrentas, Vice-President of the Police Officers’ Association of South East Attica, thanked his colleagues “for their gallant work at the airport”. In conversation with journalists protothema.gr Mr. Vrentas noted that “for the umpteenth time, the Athens airport security officers acted effectively and arrested the person who committed the thefts. And for that reason, they deserve a lot of congratulations.”
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