The counterterrorism unit of the Hellenic Police arrested terrorist Kostas Sakkas and wanted bank robber Marios Seisidis in Sparta on Thursday.
Sakkas, who is suspected to be a member of terrorist group Cells of Fire, was on probation and since February he had failed to appear at the Kaminia police station as required. Seisidis was wanted by Greek police for the past 10 years as member of the “robbers in black” gang.
According to Hellenic Police, the counterterrorism officers had been tipped that the two men are hiding in the Laconia prefecture. An operation for the arrest of the two fugitives started a week ago. On Thursday, at 4 pm, Sparta police officers stopped a car with two passengers for a routine check. The driver sped up and a chase ensued.
The two men abandoned the car and tried to escape on foot. Police continued the pursuit. The two fugitives came to an open space and got trapped there. In their attempt to flee, they shot at the policemen. Eventually, they were forced to surrender.
Who are the two wanted men
Sakkas was arrested in December 2010 along with Alexandros Mitrousias in the Athens neighborhood of Nea Smyrni. The two men were arrested by men of the Hellenic Police counterterrorism unit while coming out of a rented warehouse where firearms were hidden.
After his arrest, Sakkas denied all charges of belonging to a terrorist group and possession of firearms and explosives. He refused to sign any reports during his interrogation.
His detention lasted 30 months because new charges had been filed against him after police found further incriminating evidence. After that, another six months were added to his detention period pending a new trial.
On June 4, 2013, Sakkas began a hunger strike to protest the illegal extension of his detention. After 14 days on hunger strike, and following health problems, Sakkas was transferred from jail to the Nikaia General Hospital.
On July 11, 2013, the Court of Appeals decided to release Sakkas and put him on strict probation, prohibiting him to leave the Attica prefecture.
On January 15, 2016, Sakkas was arrested again on charges of participating in a terrorist group. His fingerprints were found in an apartment used by the Cells of Fire group. However, Sakkas was released again on the same restrictive conditions and a 5,000 euro bail.
After failing to appear in the in the Kaminia police station on February 10, a new warrant for his arrest was issued. On February 17, Sakkas issued a statement on the anarchist website indymedia claiming he was innocent.
Seisidis, on the other hand, had never been arrested and was wanted for over 10 years. He was one of the three “robbers in black” who robbed seven banks in the 2002-2006 period, taking a total of 700,000 euros. His brother Simos Seisidis and Grigoris Tsironis were the other two. In 2009, the citizen protection minister had put a 600,000 euro bounty on the three robbers.
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