Third suspect arrested in connection with gangland murders
Police on Friday announced the arrest of a third man believed to be implicated in the murder of Thanasis Kalogeropoulos.
The 22-year-old is a Greek Cypriot from Larnaca who was arrested on Thursday, and is expected to be brought before the district court to be remanded on Friday, police spokesman Lefteris Kyriakou told state broadcaster CyBC.
Testimony against the suspect was obtained from sources other than the two suspects already remanded, Kyriakou said.
The 22-year-old is being investigated for involvement in conspiracy to commit the murder. He is not the rider of the motorbike with which the perpetrators allegedly fled the scene.
It is too early to release further details, the police spokesman said.
Police on Thursday denied reports that two men arrested in the north were involved in the gangland murders of Kalogeropoulos and Alexis Mavromichalis.
Two previously arrested suspects, aged 41 and 44, were remanded in custody for eight days on Sunday over the first murder, that of Kalogeropoulos, who was shot 10 times in broad daylight in Limassol on October 30 while on the way to his morning swim.
The 41-year-old is suspected of murdering Kalogeropoulos and the 44-year-old as the person who provided aid and hospitality to the executioners before and after the murder.
The court heard that one of the suspects met with Kalogeropoulos ten days prior to the murder, according to what he told police, to discuss illegal gambling activities.
Although the getaway vehicle used by the suspects was recorded on CCTV, the footage is of poor quality, and police are searching for additional footage from other cameras to confirm the identity of the murderer.
Police are also investigating the second victim’s, Mavromichalis’, phones, to determine to whom he spoke in the hours leading up to his murder and whether he received any threats.
Mavromichalis, also known as Alexoui, was shot a day after Kalogeropoulos while standing on the balcony of his apartment in Nicosia.