November 17 terror group suspect gives himself up to police

The most wanted man in Greece, the last important suspect sought in connection with the terrorist group November 17, surrendered to police in Athens yesterday.

Officers say Dimitris Koufodinas, 45, is head of operations for the urban guerrilla group wanted in connection with several killings, including those of two Britons. He has been named as an accomplice in the assassination of the British military attaché Brigadier Stephen Saunders in June 2000 by another group member who is already in custody.

Nicknamed "poison hand" by N17 associates for his lethal expertise with a handgun, the amateur beekeeper has been the subject of Greece's largest manhunt. Thousands of police took part in the operation, which concluded yesterday afternoon when Mr Koufodinas walked into the police headquarters and identified himself.

More than 3,000 photos of the suspect have been posted around the country but the surprised officers failed to recognise the wanted man and ordered a fingerprint test before accepting his claim, the local media reported. Greece's socialist government had come under increasing pressure in recent weeks over the failure to arrest the man believed to have orchestrated N17's hitmen using the codename Loukas.

Christos Protopapas, a spokesman for the government, said: "The arrest is definitely very important."

November 17 is named after the date of a student uprising against the 1967-74 military dictatorship and announced itself in 1975 with the murder of the CIA station chief Richard Welch, the first of 23 killings.

Police made their first breakthrough against the groupthree months ago after a botched bombing attempt at a ferry office in Piraeus. Savvas Xiros, 40, a religious icon painter, was badly injured when a device he was carrying exploded prematurely. His testimony to police led to 15 arrests and a series of raids on secret arms caches.

Mr Koufodinas is believed to have been at the scene of the blast. Witnesses heard the injured Xiros call out to an accomplice: "Run Loukas, run."

Police subsequently arrested Mr Xiros'sbrothers Christodoulos, 42, and Vassilis, 30, who have both claimed Mr Koufodinas was in charge of choosing targets and was the link between the intellectual leadership and the hitmen.

The alleged founder and leader of November 17, Alexander Giotopoulos, was arrested in mid-July on the remote island of Leipsous. The former student radical leader has denied all charges.