Greece imposed a ban on all international mail yesterday following a series of parcel bombs addressed to foreign targets, as police hunted a gang of left-wing militants believed to be behind the campaign.
While authorities came under fire for failing to contain the plot, police appealed for information leading to the capture of five men suspected of trying to attack embassies in Athens and the offices of several European leaders.
“Democracy cannot be terrorized,” Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said.
He said the campaign was designed to “hurt” Greece as it struggles against an unprecedented debt crisis that nearly bankrupted it this year.
“Irresponsible and cowardly acts will not succeed in hampering our enormous efforts on behalf of the Greek people to re-establish our credibility and revive the economy,” he said.
One of the parcels was addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, while others were intended for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Italian prosecutors yesterday opened an inquiry into the case as secret services reportedly searched for a possible link to Italian militant groups.
In Berlin, Merkel urged better air freight security coordination as two US-bound parcel bombs were sent to the US from Yemen last week.
The men wanted in Greece are all aged between 21 and 30.
The two-day ban on mail and parcel dispatches abroad, which was announced late on Tuesday, is intended to give authorities more screening time.
Police spokesman Thanassis Kokkalakis said authorities had given security tips to Greek courier companies to facilitate the search and insisted that screening crews at Greek airports were fully qualified to address the issue.
“The follow-up checks are in the hands of courier companies,” he said.
“We cannot talk about a security gap at this stage, given that we have two arrests and no significant damage caused,” he said.
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