A Norwegian and an Irishman charged over an alleged murder for hire plot will remain in custody until their trial, the Famagusta criminal court confirmed on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Norwegian and 35-year-old Irishman face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit a felony and participation in a criminal syndicate.
Six further suspects arrested in connection with the same case, one Norwegian and five Swedish nationals, have since been deported to their home countries.
The pair remaining in custody were arrested at the end of August in a joint operation with a Danish police team, after Europol passed on information concerning planned assassinations in Cyprus offered in exchange for payment. T
The investigation led to a police operation across Larnaca and Famagusta, where three suspects were arrested, with a further five detained in Paphos.
The investigation began after Danish authorities alerted police via Europol to a plot targeting twin brothers from Britain, identified by the Liverpool Echo as Jamie and Aaron Small, former MMA fighters who had been staying in the Famagusta area.
The brothers are believed to have fled the island, with Merseyside police now assisting Interpol in a search for them.
A joint investigation by the Irish Times, the Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network, Norway’s VG and Sweden’s SVT reported that Irish security sources believe the alleged plot was commissioned by individuals connected to the Irish Kinahan organised crime cartel.
According to that investigation, the plan first surfaced on August 10, when a user operating under the pseudonym ‘Sponge Jobb’ offered cryptocurrency payment on the encrypted platform Signal for a contract killing within the EU.
An undercover Danish officer posing as a hitman was given photographs of the twins and told that firearms had been sourced from Turkey, before being directed to collect payment in Ayia Napa.
The organiser also claimed local police would be bribed to stay away from the area where the killings were planned.
The undercover officer arrived in Cyprus on August 24 and was monitored by police special branch working with Europol.
Surveillance identified an Irish suspect, reportedly linked by family ties to the McCarthy Dundon gang in Limerick, after he was seen leaving money at a collection point.
He was later observed meeting two Norwegian men, both with previous convictions for weapons and drugs offences, at Ayia Napa marina, shortly before the photograph of the twins was sent to the undercover officer.
The two Norweigans and Irishman were arrested on August 27, with five Swedish nationals subsequently detained after Swedish authorities alerted police to a suspected perpetrator who had travelled to the island.
All eight suspects have either denied involvement or declined to answer questions, with the five Swedish nationals maintaining they had travelled to Cyprus ‘purely on holiday’.
The whereabouts of the Small brothers remain unknown, and the motive behind the alleged plot has not been disclosed.
The two suspects trial has been scheduled for November 18.
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