In the last 24 hours Greek media has been focused on tracking down Greek Australian fugitive James Dalamangas, who has been wanted since April 1999 for his involvement in the murder of George Giannopoulos in Belmore, southwest of Sydney.
The case gained publicity in Greece through the Federal Police of Australia, which, as Neos Kosmos reported weeks ago, sounded the global alarm for the wanted man, offering a significant amount.
This prompted the mobilisation of the Greek Police and the presence of the well-known television show of Aggeliki Nikolouli ‘Light in the Tunnel’ in Australia to assist in the location of the most dangerous criminals, according to Australian Authorities. Since Mrs Nikolouli exposed the case on TV other Greek media shared the updates.
The case came back into the spotlight in Australia about a month ago when the police presented their evidence to journalists once again.
The Australian authorities estimate that the 53-year-old James Dalamangas is hiding in Greece and have offered a reward of 200,000 Australian dollars. The Australian authorities have appealed to the Greek authorities and are asking for the help of Greeks to locate him.
According to officials, he may be using the names “James”, “Jim”, “Tim”, “Dimitrios”, “Dimitris”, “Mitsos”, “Takis”, “Kanis”, while it is certain that he speaks Greek well due to the time he has lived in Greece.
What James Dalamangas looks like today
James Dalamanngas is 1.82 meters tall, has brown hair and eyes, and a tattoo with Greek letters on his right forearm. His father’s origin is from Gorgomylos, Preveza, and his mother’s from Temeni, Aigio.
The ‘Light in the Tunnel’ show visited the village of Gorgomylos and spoke with residents who knew the surname of the wanted man, but, as they said, they had not seen anyone unfamiliar in the area who could be him.
The Australian authorities have created an approximate depiction of the wanted person based on the progression of his age, to assist witnesses in his identification.
“It is very important to find this man. In Greece, this crime will soon be time-barred. We believe that someone there knows where Dalamangas is. We won’t stop until we find him. We urge the people of Greece to help us find Dalamangas,” said an Australian police officer.
The victim’s sister spoke on Nikolouli’s show and appealed to anyone who knows anything to help: “I thank your show for giving me the opportunity to ask for the help of the Greek people to arrest the wanted James Dalamangas. I believe someone is covering him up, and now is the time to speak to the police. A large sum of money, about 120,000 euros, is also being offered as a reward,” said Toula Giannopoulou.
Ms Giannopoulou spoke about the night her brother, George Giannopoulos, met a tragic end: “We received a phone call at two in the morning to go to the hospital. We went in and waited to see my brother, but they told us he had died. We were shocked when we learned that the alleged perpetrator is Greek because we never believed that a Greek would do something like this to another Greek. My parents live only for their grandchildren, and just because they are of an age, they want the murderer to be found so they can leave this life without this pain.”
Asked what she would do if she had the wanted James Dalamangas in front of her, she said she would only ask him how he can live with his conscience after what he did.
Federal detectives and officers from the New South Wales police spoke on the show ‘Light in the Tunnel’ and are asking for the help of Greeks to trace the tracks of the wanted man.
