Greece Detains 2 U.S. Envoys With Guns

WASHINGTON —  The State Department shed little light Wednesday on the case of two American envoys who were detained by Greek police in Athens and whose van contained wigs, guns and transmitters.

Deputy department spokeswoman Christine Shelley said the United States was informed by the Greek government “of the detention and subsequent release of two embassy personnel” in Athens on Tuesday.

The diplomats, identified in Athens as a second secretary at the embassy and another male employee, were released after U.S. Ambassador Thomas Niles met Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and expressed regret.

But Shelley would not identify the employees by name, title or even sex and would not speculate on what they were doing. She would only say they were embassy personnel.

Shelley said she did not know if the two were charged with any crime but that Greek authorities were investigating and the inquiry has the cooperation of the ambassador.

The van with Greek license plates had been parked for three days in central Athens, said police who investigated after getting an anonymous tip.

One of the two envoys tried to flee but was caught and arrested when police arrived. The diplomats were caught with guns, wigs and transmitters in the van. Their pictures were splashed across Greek newspapers.

Greece’s notorious left-wing guerrilla group, November 17, which has killed four U.S. diplomats and soldiers since 1975, has often used stolen vans and wigs in its attacks.

“Of course, we thought they were terrorists when we arrested them,” a senior police source said Wednesday in Athens.