Intruders caught at Greek patriarch’s home

ISTANBUL – Demirören News Agency

Istanbul police have apprehended burglars who broke into the house of Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew two weeks ago, as they were trying to burglarize a mansion on Nov. 27.

Four suspects were nabbed after a brief gunfight with police in the affluent Dragos neighborhood in the Kartal district of the metropolis. One of the suspects was injured, and two guns were seized, according to the police.

The masked robbers were identified and pursued after they broke into the residential complex that includes Barholomew’s house in the Tarabya neighborhood on Nov. 16, security sources said.

The patriarch was not inside his house during the incident, and nothing was stolen, the reports said.

The complex is guarded by a private security company, and it is still unclear how the intruders entered the home without being detected and managed to run away.

The suspects were known to the police as they had been arrested for burglaries in the past.