Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-12-01

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Jailers intercept drugs in baby's clothing, diaper

[02] Antiquities from worst-ever museum heist return to Corinth

[01] Jailers intercept drugs in baby's clothing, diaper

The mother of an eight-month-old baby was arrested on Saturday for allegedly trying to smuggle narcotics to the infants jailed father by hiding them in its diapers.

The woman, identified as Suzanna Petkari, was arrested at the Diavata prison in the northern city of Thessaloniki after authorities recovered several doses of heroin, hashish and pills hidden in the infants jumpsuit and diapers.

Jailers at the facility said they spotted inmate Haralambos Chrysafis, the infants father, retrieving the drugs from the babys clothing before hiding them in his pocket and even swallowing lumps of others.

Both the woman and the inmate were charged with various drug offences.

[02] Antiquities from worst-ever museum heist return to Corinth

A large cache of priceless antiquities were once again proudly displayed at the Corinth Museum on Saturday, 11 years after 285 separate artifacts were stolen in biggest such heist in Greek history -- an incident that also exposed the problem of poor security for the countrys numerous museums.

The recovered items, displayed in three annexes and marked with a water-soluble orange colour to distinguish them from other artifacts, include marble busts depicting ancient deities and Roman emperors, portraits of Roman citizens, pottery and glass vessels, idols, jewelry and even ancient toys.

The museums sacking on April 12, 1990 was the worst case of antiquities theft in Greece, a tremendous loss that the entire Corinth region endured for nine years, until the cache was finally located in early September 1999 by authorities in Miami, Florida. The artifacts had been packed in 12 plastic containers and stored at a Miami warehouse.

Built in 1931 by the American School of Classical Studies and officially handed over to the Greek state in 1934, the museum was considered one of the most interesting and prolific archaeological museums outside of Athens and Thessaloniki. Its collection included artifacts from the surrounding region dating from the Neolithic era to the Middle Ages.

The robbery brought to light the problems of security at Greek museums -- the Corinth museum had one unarmed guard on night duty to cover hundreds of square metres, while the museum itself had no alarm system.

Greek police made their first arrests in connection with the heist a few months after the artifacts recovery.

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