ATHENS — Greek authorities have arrested one of Australia’s most wanted fugitives, ending a 27-year international manhunt linked to a fatal stabbing in Sydney.
James Dalamangas, 55, was taken into custody in the Peloponnese region after investigators identified him living under an assumed identity. Australian police allege that he fled the country shortly after the 1999 killing of George Giannopoulos, a father of two who was stabbed during a violent altercation at a nightclub in Sydney’s south-west.
The arrest follows decades of cooperation between Australian and Greek authorities. Police in New South Wales had continued to pursue the case despite several unsuccessful attempts to locate the suspect over the years.
According to investigators, Giannopoulos was fatally wounded on April 25, 1999, after becoming involved in an incident at a nightclub in Belmore. A warrant for Dalamangas’ arrest was issued the following day, but police believe he had already left Australia.
The case became one of the country’s longest-running fugitive investigations. Authorities repeatedly sought information on Dalamangas’ whereabouts and in recent years renewed public appeals, including the release of age-progressed images and a reward for information leading to his arrest.
Greek police located the suspect in a rural area of the Peloponnese, where he is believed to have been living quietly for years. Local media reported that he had integrated into the community and was working in agriculture while using a false identity.
Australian authorities are now expected to begin extradition proceedings. The process could take months and will depend on decisions by the Greek courts, which must consider the legal framework governing the transfer of suspects between the two countries.
For the family of George Giannopoulos, the arrest marks a significant development in a case that has remained unresolved for more than a quarter of a century. For investigators, it represents the conclusion of one of Australia’s most persistent fugitive hunts and the reopening of a homicide case that many believed might never reach a courtroom.
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