Two 32-year-old men from Cameroon have been arrested and remanded for three days in the north, as the main suspects in the murder of Ayca Alav two weeks ago, reports said on Tuesday.

The two men have been sought by police in the north since December 22, for the murder of Alav, who was tied and gagged and died from asphyxiation at her currency exchange office in the old town of northern Nicosia.

According to reports in the north, the two men shortly after the murder fled to the south, with the aid of two others who are already in custody.

Reports said that the 32-year-olds were found in the Pyla area on Monday evening.

Police said that the two suspects allegedly admitted to the crime, but that they had no intention of killing the woman, and that when they left her office, she was still alive.

The website Haber Kibris uploaded a video from a Turkish Cypriot, Huseyin Demirel, who is reported to have turned over the two men to the police in the north after finding them in the state-controlled areas.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar thanked the police in the north for helping find the two suspects.

Tatar had previously requested the help of police the in state-controlled areas to help find the two suspects, filing a request through the bicommunal committee on crime.