A Limassol court remanded two men in custody for eight days on Friday in connection with the murder of a 47-year-old man the previous day.
Six more people are being sought, police said, including three men believed to be the gunmen.
Police told the court the men, a 24-year-old Georgian and a Russian, 25, who live in Limassol, are suspected of driving the shooters to the tavern where Ernest Leonides was having lunch before he was gunned down.
The court heard the Russian man’s brother, a woman, and two other individuals who had been eating with the victim, were also being sought for questioning.
Leonides, a Greek national of Georgian extraction was gunned down at around 2pm. Police said he suffered four gunshot wounds – one to the head and three to his body.
Footage from a security camera next door showed two men armed with pistols but police were not yet certain if both or more weapons had been discharged.
The men in the video are all wearing carnival-like white masks.
The 25-year-old claimed that he had received a phone call two days ago from a fellow Russian who wanted to rent a car.
They agreed to meet somewhere in Yermasoyia where he drove with the second suspect. There, they met three individuals who got in the vehicle so that they could drive them to a car rental place.
On the way, the suspect claimed, the three men asked to go to the restaurant where the shooting took place, supposedly to eat before they go to the car rental office.
The suspect alleged that, along with the 24-year-old, they went to an adjacent restaurant to wait for them.
At some point they heard gunfire and shouting and when they realized what had happened they decided to flee the scene on foot, leaving their car behind.
However, police said the suspects’ stories did not match as one said they went home on foot while the other said the 25-year-old’s brother picked them up in his car after they phoned him.
Their vehicle was later picked up by a woman whose identity was unknown at the time of the hearing.
Police said they have retrieved a mobile phone, which they believe had been dropped by one of the shooters while trying to get away towards the Dasoudi area.
Authorities believe the murder is gang related.
Leonides, a resident of Larnaca, was known to authorities in connection with past cases involving unlawful possession of firearms and a murder that took place in Pyla in 2016.
Media outlets reported that Leonides was at a time a suspect in connection with the March 2016 assassination of Giorgos Georgiou, aka Chiquito, in the buffer-zone village of Pyla.
19 Comments
Bob Ellis
February 9, 2018 at 12:57Selling passports and letting people in with money with no scrutiny or oversight will always result in a mess like this.
ROC..
February 9, 2018 at 13:13I would have them anyday over the scum that flees from thier countres to avoid arrest due to no extridtion treaty in the North, we talking rich milionares over Pedos, murderers and rapists just to name a few, so balance your argument rather than try and score a point
Kurtz
February 9, 2018 at 15:33Rich millionaires are often pedos and rapists.
Evergreen
February 9, 2018 at 13:58I was going to express the same view.
Barry White
February 9, 2018 at 12:02Perfect opportunity for Prez Nik to order the Police that Cyprus will now demonstrate that Cyprus belongs in the EU and ‘European Nations’.
Find and arrest the higher up ‘bizyness’ men involved and paying for such ‘actions’, find and arrest the administrative and political figures providing cover and ‘sponsorship’ for these “gentlemen” and with benefits.
Or, carry on as usual as the lawless pseudo European 2/3 of an island.
ROC..
February 9, 2018 at 12:37Well you can explain to me why all the scum crimimals from Murderers to rapists to Pedos flee the country to which they are wanted for and goto the North where the lawless place has no extridtion treaty with any country, Suggest clean your own sewer first,
Kurtz
February 9, 2018 at 15:37This is your default answer for anyone and anything. Barry lives in the south i’m sure where the sewers have no benching so are constantly blocked and inoperative. Perhaps you’d like to clean your own sewer ?
Barry White
February 9, 2018 at 15:48Thank goodness for all those who park their Beamers and Mercs on the footpath everyday.
It keeps the shoddy sewers from exploding upwards in the summer heat.
MountainMan
February 9, 2018 at 13:56The last paragraph has at last shown your true colours.
Kurtz
February 9, 2018 at 15:35It’s pseudo european particularly the title deeds fiasco.
Neroli
February 9, 2018 at 14:14It’s lawless indeed, and doubt it will change!
Pavel Kozlov
February 9, 2018 at 10:59About time to start getting this country back in order, cleaning up from all the rubbish that makes us think like its Russia in 1993, when mafia and the law of the gun was the only way to live.
Norby
February 9, 2018 at 10:30Still, Cyprus is a safe place compared with other nations. It is disturbing though to see that criminals fight their fights in public.
almostbroke
February 9, 2018 at 09:44Ah! As I suspected ‘business ‘ related ! Is CM suggesting that because he is Greek of ‘Georgian extraction ‘ he was a bigger ‘scumbag ‘ than if he wAs ‘just ‘ Greek !!! And of course point out the two of the people in custody are not Cypriot but a Georgian and s Russian , of course this is from a paper that cannot publish the names of convicted rapists whom we surmise are Cypriot !!!
CM follower
February 9, 2018 at 09:50Give it rest
Tatiana Tsierkezou
February 9, 2018 at 11:30I think someone needs a chill pill.
ROC..
February 9, 2018 at 13:11stop being a idiot, if think this this paper holds back, then I suggest go and see if you got the same freedom of speech on all Turkish papers? this is why you frequest this place because you know you can freely voice your opinions without getting a knock on your door at night.
Neroli
February 9, 2018 at 14:13Why do you always bring Turkey into it ???
almostbroke
February 9, 2018 at 14:51Obssesed with Turkey as usual . Balanced reporting by C M is all that is asked not making ‘fish of one and flesh of another ‘ is that too much for you !