The robbery of a jewelry store in Gastouni with a loot of 100,000 euros on March 3rd showed from the beginning to the authorities that the perpetrators knew where and how to “strike”. The “Patris” newspaper reveals their action and the investigations of the authorities as recorded in the police report, which mentions an important element: That they were going to “hit” a large financial target in Pyrgos on March 28, but an… unspecified factor canceled the robbery.

“THE DETAILS IN THE PERPETRATORS’ CAR”

The police who investigated the robbery from the beginning realized that they were dealing with “trained” robbers. The two people who broke into the store were wearing black clothing and full face hoods that covered their facial features. In addition, they wore black gloves on their hands and their whole “operation” was done with the threat of a silver pistol.

“They acted purposefully to remove the gold jewelry and valuables from the specific store, with specific and initially agreed and allocated roles, they had a complete clear picture and knowledge of the premises since they were targeted, specifically and directly without it being established that they searched or investigated interior of the store which suggests random selection of a robbery target and in addition had experience in committing similar criminal acts”, it is said.

The security cameras were immediately confiscated not only from the store but also from the surrounding area. The element that led to their tracks was the car in which they arrived and then fled the scene of the robbery. A silver Ford Fiesta with the following characteristics: the driver’s mirror was silver and the passenger’s mirror was black. The handles on the doors were also black, as were the rims without spokes on all four wheels, while on the back of the windshield there were old traffic tax stickers. But there was one more important detail on the car: it had a black protective strip on both sides with the following special feature: The thickness of said strip on the right side of the vehicle on the passenger door was obviously much thinner than the thickness of the on the side of the door behind the passenger where it is noticeably wider than the other doors.

The authorities already had a lead, the car which they located on a certain street in Amaliada. There they will find that the license plates were from another car that was stolen on March 25 from the area of ​​Western Achaia. After the arrest of the perpetrators, they will find that the car had also been stolen since December 2022. From that moment, they begin to follow the car to reach the perpetrators:

On March 27, one of the three perpetrators entered the vehicle heading for rooms for rent in Douneika, Ilia. He will then be seen filling up fuel at a certain gas station on the National Road and then going to the house of the first accused and then after several journeys another person is added to their company and they all end up in the rented rooms. What the police noticed was that the driver on all these routes was wearing gloves on his hands in order not to leave fingerprints and biological material in case the authorities find the vehicle.

The authorities continue surveillance and find that on the morning of March 28, the perpetrators make continuous crossings on Erythrou Stavrou, SPK and Kokkinou streets to targets of economic interest, as is characteristically stated in the dispatch. The authorities decide to act and arrest them with the operation taking place the next day.

THE “EPISODIC” INTERVENTION WITH EKAM AND THE ARRESTS

The authorities will take increased measures for the raid and request the assistance of EKAM.
The first raid takes place in the rented rooms. In fact, EKAM was required to intervene with a violent impact on the central doors. There they will locate the silver robbery pistol under the mattress of a double bed in a paper bag. In addition, a full face hood and gray gloves are also found. They will also find a hood inside the car.

Immediately after, the authorities make raids on houses like that of the main accused. During the operation, the entrance door of the courtyard was even twisted and the glass of the balcony door of the living room on the ground floor of the house was broken. The accused, seeing the policemen breaking into the house, threw away the mobile phone which was found a short time later.

Inside the house they will find items that were used in the robbery in Gastouni. From the investigation it was established that they were also using a motorcycle in which they had removed all the plastic parts and had painted the steering wheel, with the aim of making it impossible to identify them.
They concluded that the perpetrators hid their weapons in the rented rooms used as a “base” for planning robberies.

Two of the three perpetrators have already been remanded in custody while all three are charged with robbery and violation of the Arms and Explosives Act.

“The defendants had come together and formed a criminal group with the purpose of committing criminal acts for financial gain. To this end, they had procured weapons (firearms with a sufficient number of ammunition) and items of clothing with which they would prevent the abandonment of any element capable of revealing their identity (gloves, hoods)” conclude the authorities on how the three men acted. At the same time, the removal of their telephone privacy has been requested.