For 25 years, Australian authorities searched for James Dalamangas. This week, they finally found him.
James Dalamangas, a Sydney man wanted over the fatal stabbing of George Giannopoulos outside a Belmore nightclub in 1999, has been arrested in Greece after allegedly spending years living under a false identity.
The arrest brings fresh hope to the Giannopoulos family, who have spent more than 25 years waiting for answers.
Giannopoulos, a father of two, was killed outside the Pariziana nightclub in Sydney’s south-west in April 1999.
Police allege he was attempting to break up a fight when he was fatally stabbed.
An arrest warrant for Dalamangas was issued the following day, but investigators believe he had already fled Australia using false documents.
For years, authorities suspected he was hiding somewhere in Greece.
What followed became one of Australia’s most prolonged international manhunts.
According to Greek police, Dalamangas spent roughly 18 years living under the alias Antonis Tzimas in the rural village of Alsos in the Peloponnese region.
Reports describe his home as heavily fortified, surrounded by high walls and guarded by dogs.
Australia attempted to extradite him in 2003, but the effort failed. Greek authorities later agreed to prosecute him locally, though that process stalled when he vanished from their radar in 2007.
The trail went cold for years.
In 2019, Australian police offered a $200,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Despite renewed appeals from investigators and the victim’s family, no significant leads emerged.
As the years passed, the case became increasingly urgent due to Greece’s 25-year statute of limitations on murder offences.
With the legal deadline looming, Australian and Greek authorities intensified efforts to locate him.
The breakthrough finally came when a specialised Greek police unit received intelligence that a man living in Achaia under a false identity could be Australia’s long-wanted fugitive.
Police intercepted Dalamangas while he was driving with his 86-year-old father and a woman reported to be his partner.
Authorities say he initially provided a false name, but fingerprint checks quickly matched him to an active Interpol Red Notice.
A subsequent search of his property reportedly uncovered 13 mobile phones, a laptop, multiple USB drives, knives, a bow and arrows.
Greek authorities have charged both his father and partner with allegedly harbouring a fugitive, while Dalamangas faces additional local charges relating to weapons offences and false statements.
Despite the arrest, the legal battle is far from over.
Because Greece’s statute of limitations has technically expired, prosecutors now face complex legal questions around whether Dalamangas can ultimately be extradited to Australia to stand trial.
For the Giannopoulos family, however, the arrest marks the first major breakthrough in more than two decades.
After 25 years on the run, Australia’s most wanted fugitive is finally behind bars.
