Ransom demand for Greek magnate

The kidnappers of Greek tycoon George Mylonas have made a ransom demand of 30m euros (£24m), Greek police say.

On Monday, Mr Mylonas, 49, was bundled into the back of his own car outside his Thessaloniki home and driven away.

Police say a note containing the ransom demand was found in the glove department of the car, which was found abandoned after the kidnap.

Mr Mylonas is head of big aluminium firm, Alumil, and of the federation of northern Greek industries.

His family has been given a week to collect the money, and an anonymous caller contacted them on Tuesday night to confirm the terms, reports say.

News blackout

Police set up checkpoints and checked cars crossing Greece's northern borders in their search for the missing businessman.

Nothing was heard from the kidnappers or Mr Mylonas after he made a brief phone call to his wife after the abduction to say that he was OK, says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.

The authorities imposed a news blackout on the case, fearing publicity had shaken the armed gang and could have negative repercussions.

Mr Mylonas's family urged the media to act with restraint, saying the intense coverage was hampering the work of the authorities.

Abductions and extortion by criminal gangs occur more frequently than the authorities admit because they are settled quietly and out of the public eye by the payment of a ransom, but the huge interest in the Mylonas case has complicated it and put the industrialist's life at greater risk, our correspondent adds.

The kidnapping has forced other prominent wealthy Greeks to step up their security precautions.

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