A contract killing, a 55-year-old businessman in the crosshairs, and a financial dispute with another individual who seemed willing to go to any lengths for the businessman’s main hitman.
All of this adds up to a convoluted story from that night, with the police believing they managed to prevent the contract killing from being carried out.
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Shocking details
about the case emerged today during proceedings before the District Court of Lefkosia, where the four suspects, aged 32, 36, 48, and 70, appeared.
Shortly before the judge announced his decision to issue an 8-day detention order, a heated legal exchange took place between the head of the Investigative Unit of the Organized Crime Directorate and the suspects’ attorneys.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The police, despite not yet having any evidence, believe they have the necessary testimony to proceed.
Contract Killing
According to the information in the police’s possession, the 55-year-old suspect—a former convict serving a lengthy sentence for a 2016 murder case who was released from prison in 2024 — received information on September 13 that a criminal act was being planned against him.
READ ALSO: They Were Going to Blow Him Up in His Car: Shocking Revelations About the Hit on a Former Convict | AlphaNews
“The initial information indicated that an explosive device would be planted in a vehicle used by the complainant, and the criminal act was to take place 48 hours after the information was received, but due to a problem with the detonator, it did not occur.”
Investigating judge
According to the police, the bomb’s detonator had been deliberately destroyed by the fourth suspect in the case —that is, the 70-year-old—when he learned who the target was from the young man who was to carry out the contract killing.
“The fourth suspect has an excellent relationship with the complainant because they were incarcerated together at the Central Prison, and he deliberately destroyed the detonator of the explosive device.”
Case Investigator
According to the investigators’ probe, the hit was paid for by one of the two individuals currently wanted—who is of Arab descent and is currently abroad—since the two had financial disputes.
SEE ALSO: Plot to Murder a Convicted Felon: Four Suspects Held in Custody for Eight Days | AlphaNews
“The first person wanted paid an advance of 400,000 euros and, upon completion of the criminal act, was to pay an additional 400,000 euros.”
Investigator in the case
How the plan “fell apart”
The third suspect from Bulgaria appears to have played a significant role, as he had a good relationship with the 55-year-old businessman—having worked for him months earlier— and therefore the intended victim would not have suspected him.
In fact, according to what was heard in court, the 55-year-old man, who was allegedly the target, called the first suspect and asked him if he really intended to murder him.
“The first suspect told him that the package wasn’t 820 grams, but two packages of 409 grams each, and that they were intended for two businessmen in Limassol. The conversation continued for a little while longer, and (……) pretended to believe him.”
Case Investigator
Subsequently, the plan appears to have been fully revealed, with the 55-year-old businessman stating in his testimony that the third suspect, who was to carry out the killing, had revealed to him in detail a few days earlier the plan that had been prepared for the murder.
A story that suggests a settling of scores and one that will keep the Cypriot justice system busy for quite some time.
Watch Giorgos Chrysanthos’s report:
