Greek police arrested on Monday one of two gangsters who had staged a dramatic helicopter escape from an Athens prison in February, officials said.

Alket Rizai, a 32-year-old Albanian, was arrested early on Monday morning with a female friend at a home in the large Athenian suburb, Grammatiko, where the couple were hiding, after police tracked his mobile phone.

The other fugitive, Greece's most famous gangster Vassilis Paleocostas (43) is still on the loose.

He and Rizai escaped from prison in February by jumping into a helicopter from the high-security Korydallos prison courtyard.

It was the second helicopter escape by the two men, the first taking place in 2006, when Paleocostas was serving time for kidnapping and bank raids, and Rizai was in prison for murder.

Rizai had been recaptured in 2006, but Paleocostas was on the loose until 2008, when he was caught following the kidnap of an important Greek industrialist with a ?12-million ransom, which was never retrieved.

After their latest helicopter escape, law enforcement services were put on a country-wide state of alert, though the opposition and media accused the government of indifference.