The Irish Kinahan cocaine cartel is reportedly behind the order to execute the British twin brothers in Ayia Napa, which was thwarted at the last minute thanks to a cross-border operation involving the newly established Sub-Directorate for Combating Organized Crime.
The twins have vanished
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Revelations about the case are coming thick and fast internationally. The twin targets of the assassination plot were brothers Jamie and Aaron Small from Liverpool, who were vacationing in the Famagusta district. Here we see them competing as athletes in mixed martial arts matches.
Read more: Jamie and Aaron Small: MMA Athletes, the Twin Targets of the Plot to Assassinate Them in Cyprus
The two remain missing, and Interpol has launched a manhunt to locate them. Eight people—one Irishman, two Norwegians, and five Swedes—were arrested by Cypriot police in connection with the case.
A Hitman for Hire
The assassination plot began to take shape on August 10, with a message on the Signal app in which a user—whose profile picture was the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants—was seeking a hitman, offering a fee of €85,000.
The Trap
A Danish police officer responding to the ad posed as the hitman and arrived in Cyprus on August 24, with his movements closely monitored by the Cypriot FBI in cooperation with Europol. The undercover officer was instructed to go to a laundromat to pick up the money.
The 33-year-old Irishman, who acted as a liaison with the mastermind, also arrived at the location. In turn, the Irishman led to the arrest of the other suspects, including a Swedish national who had also rushed to Cyprus as the intended hitman.
Watch the report by Christoforos Nestoros
