Two Arrested In Athens for Ayia Napa Multiple Murders

Update: A 29-year-old and a 40-year-old have been arrested by Greek anti-terrorist forces in Athens on suspicion of murdering five men in Ayia Napa last weekend, reports Mega TV.

The suspects will fight extradition to Cyprus, and in a sinister turn of events, it seems almost certain that there is a strong link between terrorism and organised crime in the murders.

The 29-year-old was arrested in a hideout in the Greek capital by a coordinated operation carried out by anti-terrorist units. The suspect is known for his involvement in anarchistic and extremist activities, according to the report. He was identified from footage on security cameras on the street in Ayia Napa after his cap fell off his head, revealing his face.

The 40-year-old was accused of cocaine dealing in 2010 after he was caught with 83 kilos of the drug.

Authorities believe it was a contract killing and the two men executed their victims and went back to Athens as if nothing had happened. They're now expected to be extradited back to the island to face a murder trial.

On June 28th Ayia Napa 'businessman' Fanos Kalopsidiotis was arrested in connection with the multiple murders in Ayia Napa, said police. It is thought he was the main target in the murders of five men on June 23rd, four of whom worked for him.

Kalopsidiotis has denied that he is an organised crime 'godfather' in Ayia Napa, in an interview he gave to Phileleftheros newspaper, but authorities believe the murders were part of a gangland war.

Meanwhile, two arrest warrants, international and local, were issued for the murder suspects who are Greek Pontians from Russia. 

Five men slaughtered

Five men - three Cypriots and two Rumanians - were shot dead in a suspected gangland hit at 3.30am June 23rd whilst they were driving in the centre of Ayia Napa. Their BMW was in motion when it was fired upon with the five men inside it. After shots were fired at it, the car collided with a parked car on Katalimaton road behind Ayia Napa Square and came to a stop, said police.

The Cypriots are 35-year-old Paralimni resident Georgios Georgiou, aka Satanas, 33-year-old Nicosia resident Philipos Loukaides and 28-year-old Marios Karaolis from Nicosia. Georgiou was the father of three children.

The two Rumanian victims have not been identified pending notification of next-of-kin.

During the brutal murders, the driver Georgios Georgiou managed to get out of the vehicle and run a few meters away before he fell and was shot to the head in cold blood. The other four victims were shot to the head and chest, and police have retrieved 14 bullet shells, bullet-proof vests and a computer from inside the car.

The authorities have video from closed circuit cameras covering the street and could identify the murderers with it. 

Former justice minister Nikos Koshis said that it was a gangland war and the murders were to settle scores in the gambling business. Police must infiltrate the underworld gangs to get information, otherwise the authorities will lose the war, he said. Organised crime already has informers in the police force, he said. These gangs control not only gambling, but prostitution, drugs, loan sharking and protection rackets, said the former minister.

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